Biden Administration Faces First Legal Challenge Over Southern Border Asylum Policy

 The American Civil Liberties Union and multiple immigrant advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging President Joe Biden’s eligibility crackdown on asylum-seeking migrants—the first of several legal challenges his administration will likely receive following the executive action.

The lawsuit argues Biden’s restrictions violate legal protections provided to people seeking asylum in the U.S., noting that Congress has never allowed the president to “categorically ban asylum based on where a noncitizen enters the country.”

Biden’s presidential proclamation, issued June 4, makes most people crossing the border illegally considered ineligible for asylum—though there are a few exceptions including “exceptionally compelling circumstances” that include fear of persecution in migrants’ home countries.

The ACLU said in a statement Wednesday the crackdown only allows asylum for people who manage to “secure a scarce appointment to present themselves at a port of entry,” a reference to a highly scrutinized asylum process at the U.S.-Mexico that can take applicants months or years to get through.

The lawsuit also argues the new asylum rules hinder migrant advocacy centers’ missions, funding and ability to serve a large number of clients, citing the order’s ability to allow border agents to more quickly turn away migrants without any formal process.

The ACLU lawsuit was filed jointly with the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, among other groups.

The measures within Biden’s order went into effect immediately on June 8. They can be reversed 14 days after border crossings drop below 1,500 per day on average for seven consecutive days. Conversely, the measures can go back into effect if there are more than 2,500 border crossings per day on average over one week. Biden’s executive action materialized after a record-high number of migrant encounters were recorded at the U.S.-Mexico border last year, totaling nearly 250,000.