Dear Colleagues, Today, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security released a joint Interim Final Rule (IFR), effective immediately, which is designed to mitigate the crisis at the border by better identifying those in need of protection. This IFR bars from asylum eligibility, with limited exception, aliens who have entered the United States across the southern land border after failing to apply for protection in at least one third country through which they transited en route to the United States. There is a national emergency at our southern border. For five years, drug cartels and other criminal organizations have profited from exploiting loopholes in our nation’s immigration laws. Many individuals, often assisted by criminal organizations, continue to take advantage of the loopholes in our asylum system to gain entry into the United States for economic opportunity and family reunification. This is evidenced by the fact that roughly 76% of individuals referred to our agency for a credible fear interview screen positive, but only about 15% end up being granted asylum by an immigration judge. The large number of non-meritorious asylum claims is creating chaos at the border and long lines for those who truly need humanitarian protection. The continued abuse of our asylum and other immigration laws also enables the exploitation of children, facilitates human trafficking, provides a continuous cash flow to criminal organizations, and undermines the integrity of our immigration system. The USCIS Asylum Division will be instrumental in implementing the IFR. I thank the Asylum Division and all of the volunteers across our agency who are assisting with the asylum workload. I am proud of USCIS’ professional and exemplary staff and the work each of you do every day to keep our nation safe and administer our nation’s lawful immigration system. Sincerely, Ken Cuccinelli Acting Director
I'm trying to come up with a good response, but I can't. I just wish we had a better system for dealing with this situation.