U.S COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
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USCRI Expresses Concern About Plans to Enhance the Use of Expedited Removal

March 9, 2023

The undersigned 91 civil, human, and immigrant rights groups write to express our deep concern with the announcement, and confirmation in the notice of proposed rulemaking, that your administration plans to enhance the use of expedited removal, and to reiterate our opposition to the punitive policies the administration is considering implementing along the border after Title 42 exclusions end.

The reported plan to roll out fast-tracked asylum screenings within Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention facilities bears a striking resemblance to two policies from the previous administration known as Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP), which allowed credible fear interviews (CFIs) to occur in CBP facilities. This news comes alongside further disturbing reports that the administration is attempting to return non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico if they fail to pass these preliminary CFIs — a predictable outcome for many given the alarming conditions in CBP custody. Nearly 300 organizations have also previously written to you in opposition to previously articulated plans to issue a proposed rule, which echo prior enjoined policies from the previous administration by limiting access to asylum to otherwise eligible refugees on the basis of their manner of entry, transit route, or through advanced registration on a smartphone app, which many vulnerable populations cannot access.

Click here to read the full letter. 


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