Iraq News Now

The Trump administration has revised training guidelines for

asylum officers in ways that could make it harder for migrants seeking refuge

in the United States to pass an initial screening, Reuters reported.

The revisions to a lesson plan used by hundreds of asylum

officers suggest the Trump administration is finding new ways to narrow who can

access asylum as bolder policy proposals with that same goal have been blocked

by federals courts, said former government officials and immigration experts

who reviewed the internal plan that was shared with Reuters. The changes could

potentially lead to more denials and deportations before migrants’ full cases

can be heard, they said.

Jessica Collins, a spokeswoman for US Citizenship and

Immigration Services (USCIS), which oversees asylum applications, said the

agency periodically updates its training documents and that it processes all

claims on a case-by-case basis. The lesson plan has been revised in 2006, 2014

and February 2017. The new version dated April 30, goes into effect this month,

USCIS said.

The ballooning number of mostly Central American families

turning themselves into border agents and asking for asylum has pushed US

border agencies to a breaking point. In March, more than 100,000 people were

caught at the US-Mexico border, the highest monthly level in more than a

decade.

US President Donald Trump has claimed the migrants are

exploiting “loopholes” in immigration law and says many asylum claims are

fraudulent.

The first step in the long US asylum process is an interview

by a USCIS official specially trained in asylum and refugee law to determine

whether a migrant has a “credible fear” of returning to their home country.

If they pass that first hurdle, a low bar, they go on to

immigration court where a judge can grant them asylum if they prove they have

been persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, political

opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Around three-quarters of the thousands of monthly applicants

regularly pass the first “credible fear” interviews, according to government

data. But most Central American migrants fleeing general violence and

corruption ultimately do not qualify for asylum.

Trump has said repeatedly that the standards for entry into

the United States are too lenient.

‘BIG, FAT CON JOB’

The revised lesson plan is “a significant and disturbing

step toward making it more difficult to pass credible fear interviews,” said

Victoria Neilson, who worked in the USCIS refugee and asylum division during

the Obama administration.

The new plan deletes a paragraph from the previous guidance

that told “credible fear” interviewers to consider that asylum seekers may not

have all the evidence to prove their claims when they first arrive in the

United States. Guidance to consider trauma and cultural background when

assessing credibility has also been deleted. Instructions to be warier of fraud

were inserted.

Stephen Legomsky, a former USCIS chief counsel said that

asylum seekers who arrive in the United States without documents to prove their

persecution back home have to rely on their own testimony. “Without taking cultural

and psychological factors into account, evaluating the person’s credibility

becomes nearly impossible,” Legomsky said.

USCIS’ Collins said the agency’s officers take into account

“relevant country conditions information” and adhere “to all applicable laws,

regulations, policies, and precedent decisions.”

Currently, asylum officers are required to complete weeks of

in-person training followed by regular ongoing refresher courses.

The White House is seeking $23 million of funding to train

border patrol agents to perform “credible fear” interviews that are usually

done by specialized USCIS asylum officers. It was not clear whether or not this

new lesson plan would be used to train border patrol agents.

US Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border

Patrol, referred questions about its agents conducting interviews to the US

Department of Homeland Security, which did not respond to a request for

comment. An April 29 White House memo said agencies should “reprioritize”

immigration officials to do “credible fear” screenings, without specifically

mentioning Border Patrol.

Migrants who pass the initial “credible fear” interview are

often allowed stay in the United States until their asylum cases are decided, a

process that can take months or years because of a massive backlog of

immigration court cases.

The Trump administration has said people are gaming the

legal system in order to stay in the country.

At a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 29, Trump

called the asylum process “a big, fat con job.”

“You have people coming up, they are all met by the

lawyers,” he said, “and they say, say the following phrase, ‘I’m very afraid

for my life’... and then I look at the guy, he looks like he just got out of

the ring, he’s the heavyweight champion of the world.”

Under a new Trump policy started in January, hundreds of

asylum seekers have been forced to return to wait in Mexico while their cases

lumber through US courts. That policy is being challenged by lawsuits.

Trump has promised to build a wall along the US-Mexico

border but a physical barrier would have little effect on migrants who turn

themselves into officials.

By changing the rules for asylum screenings the government

“is erecting an invisible wall,” for those seeking protection, said Dree

Collopy, an immigration attorney at a Washington DC-based law firm.