While the Biden administration appears to be cracking down on the border publicly, a mass amnesty program for migrants has been implemented behind the scenes, as revealed by The Post.
Massive Amnesty Disguised as Prosecutorial Discretion
Over 350,000 asylum cases from migrants have been closed by the US government if the applicants are not considered a threat or do not have a criminal record since 2022, meaning migrants are taken out of the legal process and are not required to report or check in with authorities while their asylum status is not decided.
Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge who currently works for the Center for Immigration Studies, characterized the situation as a massive amnesty disguised as prosecutorial discretion, which effectively permits individuals without the right to be in the United States to remain indefinitely without being deported.
Migrants' Removal Proceedings in America
In 2020, under the Trump administration, immigration court judges ordered the removal of 48,000 migrants from the US. As per data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, less than 20,000 people were granted asylum, and about 4,700 cases were closed, or individuals were otherwise permitted to stay in the country.
In 2022, during Biden's presidency, a memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement's principal legal adviser, Kerry Doyle, directed prosecutors to dismiss cases for migrants not considered national security threats, where 36,000 individuals were ordered removed, 32,000 were granted asylum, and 102,550 cases were dismissed or otherwise resolved that year, which is a tenfold increase from 2014.
In 2023, 149,000 cases fell into this latter category. As of September 30, the end of the current fiscal year 2024, the number of cases closed has already reached 114,000, indicating that it is likely to exceed the previous year's count.
Since Biden took office, 77% of asylum seekers have been permitted to stay in the country, amounting to 499,000 out of 648,000 applicants, as reported by TRAC. The current backlog of asylum cases is 3.5 million, and clearing over 100,000 cases annually improves the administration's appearance.
The Migrants' Amnesty
Migrants are no longer in removal proceedings and are no longer subject to deportation, are not obligated to leave the US, and are no longer monitored by ICE or required to regularly check in with them once cases are closed, unlike individuals who are still pursuing asylum claims.
Washington-based immigration lawyer Hector Quiroga explained to The Post that if a migrant's case is dismissed, they essentially return to a state where they cannot receive benefits or a work permit, which is much preferable to a deportation order.
Immigration lawyer Sergio C. Garcia explained that migrants whose asylum cases have been dismissed have various options to explore for remaining in the country, such as applying for a family-based visa, employment-based visa, or other humanitarian protections like Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),provided they meet the eligibility requirements after consulting with an immigration attorney.
ICE officers who shared insights with The Post highlighted a rise in instances where migrants engage in criminal activities after their asylum cases are closed, which necessitates agents to initiate deportation proceedings anew. This process typically spans several years.
The Biden administration's efforts to strengthen border policies have included implementing a rule in May requiring that asylum claims be processed within 180 days for migrants who designate their final destination as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York City. US sources informed The Post that the administration is prepared to issue an order to close the border when the number of migrant crossings reaches 4,000 per day.
