A pilot program by the Trump Administration aims to “fast-track” family asylum cases. From September 2018 to June 2019, the Department of Homeland Security tracked 56,000 cases across 10 large cities that it wanted to fast-track. For these cases, the timetable is a matter of months, much faster than the average two years for asylum claims. Immigration lawyers have complained that the policy does not leave enough time to prepare their cases, including preparing their clients to testify and to get foreign documents to support their asylum claims. The aim of this policy is to “disincentivize families — where an overwhelming majority of cases don’t qualify for relief, but instead end with removal orders — from making the treacherous journey to the United States,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

-Weekly Immigration Briefing by Olivia Hester, Immigration Law Analyst at Docketwise

Posted in: Immigration