by Eric Lendrum
The Biden Administration is facing growing pressure to more quickly resolve asylum cases that are putting a strain on Democratic cities, announcing a new process that will ostensibly help accomplish this goal.
According to Fox News, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) jointly announced the creation of a “Recent Arrivals (RA) Docket process,” aimed at processing asylum cases for single illegal alien adults at a faster pace.
The new RA process will allegedly allow the administration to more quickly deport illegals who are determined to not have valid asylum claims, while at the same time granting relief to those considered legitimate. Under the current system, the wait time for an asylum case can be as much as 7 years.
This new program will begin operating in five major cities: Atlanta, Georgia; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York. The goal will be to decide all asylum cases within 6 months.
In a statement following the announcement of the new program, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was recently impeached by Congress over his handling of the border, said that the new system is still only a temporary fix, and that the White House allegedly needs more funding from Congress.
“Today, we are instituting with the Department of Justice a process to accelerate asylum proceedings so that individuals who do not qualify for relief can be removed more quickly and those who do qualify can achieve protection sooner,” said Mayorkas’ statement. “This administrative step is no substitute for the sweeping and much-needed changes that the bipartisan Senate bill would deliver, but in the absence of Congressional action we will do what we can to most effectively enforce the law and discourage irregular migration.”
The new policy comes as the Administration faces increasing pressure from Democrats to address the rising mass migration crisis. Although the Democratic Party uniformly supported the “open-borders” approach of simply letting in as many illegals as possible – for the purpose of giving them amnesty so that they could all register to vote for Democrats – the increasing strain of skyrocketing crime, drugs, disease, and homelessness has led to some Democratic officials to change their tune on the border crisis.
“We are at an untenable situation right now, and it is painful for us. It’s painful for the city,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D-N.Y.) in December. “And I think that you see it being reflected in the polls. It is because our federal government’s actions have taken a toll on the people of this city.”
“We need the president to extend the same economic opportunities long term for our undocumented brothers and sisters, so they can build a better life here in the city of Chicago or wherever else they decide to live,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D-Ill.) in April.
The border and immigration consistently remains one of the top priorities for voters throughout the primary season, with the November general election now just over 5 months away.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
