To Deter Illegal Immigration, Biden Administration Pursues Expedited Removal

The Joe Biden administration announced recently that it would begin swiftly removing migrant families that immigration officials determined did not qualify for asylum after an initial screening at the southwestern border, returning to a policy known as expedited removal to deter further unauthorized immigration, reports the New York Times. The policy allows asylum officers to interview families in a fast-tracked screening process to determine if they have a “credible fear of persecution.” Expedited removal could potentially be applied to certain cohorts of families, depending on their country of origin or the age of the children, or along only certain stretches of the border.

The policy will seemingly be used in conjunction with Title 42, initiated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the pandemic, which allows the United States to immediately send migrants back across the border even if they wish to make an asylum claim. It is the main border policy from the Donald Trump era that the Biden administration kept in place, although the current administration has exempted all minors who are traveling alone. Advocates have been hoping that the CDC would revoke Title 42, which they consider a tool used for immigration enforcement rather than for protecting the country from the virus. Critics say that quick deportations are especially problematic because they can lead to erroneous expulsions.