At the Border

After passing through one of the ports of entry along the southern U.S. border, migrants are processed for asylum claims. However, some ports of entry have placed caps on the number of migrants they will receive for asylum claims daily, creating encampments along the Mexico border. A migrant who crosses the border illegally (not at a port of entry) still has the legal right to request asylum in the U.S. Eventually, the migrant will present his/herself to a border patrol officer, or a border patrol officer will find and detain the migrant. From this point, the same legal process begins.

Asylum

Once an individual makes the journey and arrives into the U.S., he/she can apply for asylum. The qualifications for asylum include suffering persecution or fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or public opinion. Individuals must apply for asylum within one year of arrival in the U.S. While applying for asylum, an individual may include his/her spouse and/or children on the asylum application, but the children must be under the age of 21 and unmarried.

Because asylum is not a criminal matter, the U.S. government does not provide asylum seekers with a defense attorney. However, asylum seekers with an attorney are nearly five times more likely to win their case than those without attorneys. Asylum cases can take up to three years to go through court. This creates added difficulties because circumstances in home countries often change and cause cases to become harder to prove with substantial evidence.

Credible Fear

A Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officer interviews migrants to discover their reasons for crossing the border. The majority of migrants seek asylum for reasons that fall within “credible fear” claims, including fear of death and/or torture in their home country. If a credible fear is expressed by a migrant, then CBP contacts Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE houses migrants in detention centers and conducts a Credible Fear Screening to determine if migrants will go to court to make an asylum claim. The process through immigration court can take anywhere from six months to two years.

**As of June 15, 2020, the Homeland Security Department and the Executive Office of Immigration Review has proposed a Rule for “Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review” that would change the qualifications for asylum seekers to pass through credible fear screenings to court proceedures.

Children at the Border

Children have a similar journey at the U.S. border. They are initially held in Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) facilities. By law, they must be transferred to a shelter or foster home run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within 72 hours, though it is common for children to be held by CBP for several days or even weeks. Children typically spend about two months in the ORR facilities, where they are required to receive education and health services as they await placement with a family member or sponsor. Once released to a sponsor, the children petition for asylum or another form of relief within the immigration court system, which can also take anywhere from six months to two years.

**The process at the border is constantly changing. For example, the new Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), known as “Remain in Mexico,” now requires most migrants to return to Mexico’s side of the border while awaiting a court hearing in the U.S. Additionally, the latest immigration policies under the Trump Administration call for tighter restrictions on all immigration and border crossings due to COVID-19.

To learn more about the Trump Administration’s changes, visit: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/policies-affecting-asylum-seekers-border