“Our asylum system is overwhelmed”
A statement released by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker revealed the change in policy on Thursday.
“Our asylum system is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it,” said the joint statement.
“Today, we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a Presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility,” they explained.
The regulation would “channel inadmissible aliens to ports of entry, where they would be processed in a controlled, orderly, and lawful manner,” according to the statement.
The order would force migrants seeking to apply for asylum to do so only at ports of entry, and not after stepping onto U.S. soil illegally.
Officials speaking to the Wall Street Journal about the order said that it would be temporary in nature.
Trump is expected to sign the order on Friday before leaving on a trip to Paris.
Here’s a news report on the order from Trump:
