Trump's decision to make good on his pledge shows he has no plans to let up on his immigration crackdown, which has played a central role during his time in the White House and motivates his core supporters.
Under the new rules, people would be required to go to a legal port of entry to make a claim for asylum.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA) says migrants can claim asylum regardless of how they crossed the border and some legal experts have said the changes could violate that law.
"Denying people the right to seek asylum is cruel, unjust, and also unlawful," said Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at the liberal Center for American Progress.
But the administration argues that other provisions of the INA give Trump broad authority to "suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens" if he deems their entry is "detrimental to the interests of the United States."
The administration used the same legal reasoning to justify its travel ban, which was upheld by the Supreme Court.
It remains unclear how long the restrictions will remain in place, but officials say they are intended to streamline the asylum process while ensuring resources aren't being tied up working on what the administration says is a growing number of fraudulent claims.
https://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...aims-at-border
People who claim asylum at the border are currently interviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials to determine whether they have a "credible fear" of returning to their home countries. If they do, they are generally released from custody pending a court hearing, a practice Trump has derided as "catch-and-release."
The new rule states that officials must assess whether migrants are eligible to seek asylum under Trump's forthcoming proclamation. The migrant would then have to meet a higher standard of "reasonable fear of persecution or torture" to avoid deportation and continue with the asylum process.
The administration says the number of migrants claiming "credible fear" when caught the border has jumped from 5,000 to 97,000 over the past decade, even though only 6,000 were eventually granted asylum last year.
Officials accuse immigrants of using the claims to avoid or delay deportation and removal proceedings.
"It is a massive, frankly historically unparalleled abuse of our immigration system," said one senior administration official
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