Trump Administration Seeks To Stop Asylum Process By Deporting People To Third-Party Countries

The Trump administration is attempting to use deportation to third-party countries as a way to resolve asylum cases of immigrants who say they face persecution in their home countries.

CBS News reported that the administration is arguing that it can deport people to countries that they are not from to expedite the asylum process. In doing so, the administration hopes to cancel scheduled asylum hearings and stop pending immigration cases in their tracks.

People can come to the U.S. and seek asylum for fear of persecution for race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, according to the U.S. government. When a person seeks asylum, a hearing on their case is scheduled, and if granted asylum, they can remain in the U.S.

Since the person is alleging that they would be persecuted if returned to their home country, deporting them to that country is not an option until after they have a hearing.

The Trump administration is arguing, in thousands of cases, that they can avoid the hearings altogether by deporting people to places other than their countries of origin, CBS News reported.

The network reported that as of December, ICE attorneys filed more than 8,000 motions toss out asylum claims referencing deportation agreements with third countries.

In a statement to CBS, the Department of Homeland Security stated that the administration is "working to get illegal aliens out of our country as quickly as possible while ensuring they receive all available legal process, including a hearing before an immigration judge."

"DHS is using every lawful tool available to address the backlog and abuse of the asylum system," the department stated. "Lawful bilateral arrangements that allow illegal aliens seeking asylum in the United States to pursue protection in a partner country that has agreed to fairly adjudicate their claims."