The U.S. government today imposed new restrictions on asylum claims in an attempt to curb the number of asylum seekers arriving at the southern border and entering or attempting to enter the country illegally.
In a joint statement, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced that they will only accept asylum applications from immigrants who have applied for asylum in at least one third country en route to the United States.
The new standard published in the Federal Register will become effective on Tuesday, July 16, 2019.
Immigrants who do not comply with the new rule will not be eligible for asylum.
The rule in question has three exceptions:
- An alien who demonstrates that he or she applied for protection from persecution or torture in at least one of the countries through which the alien transited en route to the United States, and that in that country the alien received a final judgment denying him or her asylum protection.
- An alien who proves that he or she has been a victim of a severe form of human trafficking.
- An alien who has transited to the United States through countries that have not signed major international treaties governing the management of refugees, such as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugeesthe 1967 Protocol or the Convention against Torture.
