Washington – Citing President Trump’s extraordinary move to shut down the US asylum system, US border agents have been instructed to summarily deport migrants who cross the country illegally without allowing them to apply legal protection, according to internal government documents and agency officials.
Within hours of being sworn in, Mr. Trump invoked sweeping presidential authorities to bar entry to migrants deemed to be participating in an “invasion” of the US, as well as those who may pose a risk to public health or national security. He cited a provision of immigration law known as 212(f) that allows presidents to suspend the entry of aliens whose entry is deemed “detrimental” to the US.
In that same proclamation, Mr. Trump invoked his constitutional foreign affairs powers to empower U.S. immigration officials to “repel, repatriate, or remove any alien who participates in the incursion at the southern border of the United States.”
Internal government documents indicate that as of Tuesday night, the president’s “full-blown” 212(f) authority was being implemented across the Texas-Mexico border, making nearly all migrants arriving there expel quickly. The documents cite public health-related authority 212(f) that applies to “aliens who traveled through a country with a communicable disease.”
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The edict of Mr. Trump also applies to coastal sectors of the Border Patrol, including Florida, and the US-Canada border. The documents indicate that Canadian authorities will be asked to accept those who cross the northern border illegally, on top of the asylum seekers the US and Canada already exchange under a “third party” agreement safe country”.
Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal guidance, said migrants will not be allowed to see an immigration judge or asylum officer under the executive order. Mr. Trump, which effectively suspends America’s obligations under domestic and international law to ensure that people flee persecution. they do not return to danger.
One of the officials said Border Patrol agents were ordered to quickly deport migrant adults and families traveling with children under the president’s directive, after taking their biometrics and fingerprints. Non-Mexico migrants must be detained pending deportation.
Those with criminal records are subject to prosecution in the United States under longstanding practice, the official said.
The release of migrants in the US has been largely banned. Internal government documents say requests to release migrants with a judicial notice will have to be approved by Border Patrol headquarters and will only be considered in “life-threatening” situations.
The official said the new policy reflects Title 42, a far-reaching order that the first Trump administration enacted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to deport most migrants who enter the United States illegally united The order, based on a controversial public health rationale that migrants would spread COVID-19, was eventually shelved by the Biden administration, which relied on the measure for more than two years amid record levels of immigration. migrants
The Biden administration enacted its own asylum restriction last June, also citing 212(f) authorities. While that order disqualified most migrants who cross the southern border illegally from asylum, it still gave them a chance to make their case to asylum officers if they expressed fear of harm once deported
Former President Joe Biden’s asylum restrictions also had an important exemption: They did not apply to migrants waiting in Mexico who used a government smartphone app, known as CBP One, to apply for a time to enter the US at an official border point of entry.
But immediately after the inauguration of Mr. Trump, his administration shut down the CBP One process and canceled all existing appointments under the application, which had allowed up to 1,500 migrants to enter the US each day.
Although the Biden administration faced record numbers of migrant arrivals in its first three years, illegal border crossings declined sharply in 2024 after the Mexican government stepped up efforts to ban those who traveled to the USA. they are kept for a minimum of four years.
The movements of Mr. Trump at the border, as his unprecedented attempt to reverse citizenship by birthrightthey are likely to face legal challenges.
“Simply put, this order ends asylum at the U.S. border for anyone fleeing danger, including families persecuted for their religion or political speech,” Lee Gelernt said. , who leads the American Civil Liberties Union’s immigration demands.
