US Changes Rules for Migrants Seeking Asylum at Southern Border

 

The administration of American President Donald Trump¹ is changing rules for migrants seeking asylum² at the southern U.S. border.

The new rules say that migrants must seek asylum in the country they pass through to get to the southern U.S. border before they can seek asylum in the United States.

Asylum is political protection given by one country to a person who is from another country. Usually people who seek asylum fear they would face danger if they return to their own country.

The new rules offer “limited exceptions.” These include if a person has been trafficked, if they passed through a country that has not signed major international migration³ treaties or if they have been denied asylum in the third country.

The rule is set to go into effect Tuesday.

Attorney General William Barr said in a statement that the United States is “a generous country but is being completely overwhelmed.”

Barr said the rules are meant to decrease the number of economic migrants and those “who seek to exploit” the asylum system.

In publishing the new rules, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it faces more requests than it can deal with. Of the 900,000 immigration cases waiting for trial, 436,000 include asylum applications, it said.

The Trump administration said the new rules are aimed at reducing the large difference in the number of those whose claims are approved for consideration and those who gain asylum.

In its announcement, the DHS said only about 4,021 people receive asylum each year.

Currently, the U.S. has what is known as a “safe third country” agreement only with Canada. Central American countries, including Mexico, are considering the issue.

Guatemalan officials were expected in Washington D.C., on Monday to discuss a safe third country agreement with the U.S. A “safe third country” agreement would mean that Salvadorans, Hondurans and people from elsewhere who cross into Guatemala would have to apply for asylum there instead of doing so at the U.S. border.

However, Guatemala canceled the meeting. A legal case brought against Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales seeks to bar him from entering into such an agreement with the United States. The country’s constitutional court has not yet ruled on the issue.

The new asylum rules are likely to face legal action from activist⁴ groups in the United States.

Lee Gelernt is a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, a rights group based in New York City. He has been involved in several cases opposing Trump administration actions related to immigration. He told the Associated Press that the new rules were unlawful and that they would hurt migrants’ efforts to gain asylum.

The new rule comes as the issue of illegal immigration has increased tensions between the Trump administration and Congress.

On Friday, House members and witnesses in an Oversight⁵ Committee hearing had emotional exchanges discussing conditions at border holding centers. The centers are for people detained after crossing the border illegally. A recent government report and visits by lawmakers and U.S. Vice⁶ President Mike Pence have brought attention to conditions at the centers.

I’m Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

trafficked –adj. the illegal business of taking people from one place to another to be used as workers

generous –adj. freely giving and sharing things that are of value

overwhelmed –adj. to cause a person or group to have too many things to deal with

exploit –v. to use often in a way that is unfair to others

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。