(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently signed a northern border deal that has a major loophole that allows some illegal immigrants to skirt expulsion.
On March 24, Biden and Trudeau announced a new “Safe Third Country” agreement that would force northern border authorities on both sides to return illegal immigrants to the first country of their arrival so that they would make their asylum claims, according to the Daily Caller.
However, the Department of Homeland Security memo that was exclusively obtained by the news source instructed federal border authorities to allow illegals that could face expulsion under the new agreement to still have their cases heard by an asylum officer to vet for “credible fear” if one fears persecution or torture.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, credible fear interviews can also be conducted if an individual indicates they intend to apply for asylum.
The exemption applies to those claiming asylum or fear, the DHS memo stated. USCIS reported that roughly 60,000 credible fear claims were referred to the organization in the fiscal year of 2021, which is a nearly 100% increase from the fiscal year of 2020.
“Noncitizens entering or attempting to enter the U.S. from Canada between POEs [Port of Entry] who request asylum or claim a fear of persecution or torture may be processed for expedited removal and referred to an asylum officer for a credible fear interview,” the memo stated.
“Prior to proceeding with the credible fear interview, the asylum officer will conduct a threshold screening to determine whether an exception to the Agreement applies and the noncitizen will be allowed to proceed with the credible fear interview.”
The memo also added that if the asylum officer doesn’t grant an exception, the individual will be ordered removed to Canada.
According to USCIS, if an asylum officer determines an individual has a credible fear, the asylum claim will be adjudicated. In some cases, illegal immigrants will be released with a future court date, which granted 68% of credible fear claims referred to the agency in the fiscal year of 2021.
