Report: Border officers in Arizona are turning away asylum seekers despite U.S. law

A new report from a group of immigrant aid and legal rights organizations alleges that asylum seekers being apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border under a set of new restrictions are not being given the chance to ask for protection in the U.S., despite U.S. law requiring that access.

In June, the Biden administration enacted a temporary executive order that severely limits border asylum, citing the high number of migrant encounters by border officers in recent months. Rights groups filed suit against it — arguing the order violates a portion of U.S. immigration statute that says anyone presently in the U.S. has a right to seek asylum, regardless of how they arrived.

Researchers say they’ve spoken with hundreds of asylum seekers removed through Arizona, Texas and California since the order went into effect.

“Overwhelmingly, we’re hearing from people who have been deported without being referred for a fear screening, that they’ve been told the border is closed, don’t come back, there is no asylum,” said report co-author Christina Asencio, director of research and analysis and refugee protection at Human Rights First.

Under the order, border officers are no longer required to ask migrants if they fear being sent back. But those who express that fear themselves are supposed to be referred for additional screenings with asylum officers at Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS.

At a recent media tour of a Customs and Border Protection facility where migrants are processed in Tucson, agency personnel pointed out a row of phone booths where a handful of people were undergoing screenings with USCIS. They said migrants who express fear of returning to their countries are sent to the booths to convene with asylum officers and, if they’re available, lawyers.

But according to the report, many of the migrants subject to the order were sent back to Mexico or their home countries through expedited removal, even after asking for asylum or protection in the U.S.

“They’re sharing the persecution that they experience, like why they’re fleeing harm, they even showed injuries and bruises that they had, specifically requested asylum, were visibly sobbing or pleading to be heard,” Asencio said.

Customs and Border Protection did not respond to requests for comment about the report’s findings.

USCIS data shows the number of fear screenings asylum officers conducted fell sharply from about 20,000 in May to less than 2,000 in July.