The deal will grant the Department of Homeland Security new emergency authority to clamp down on border crossings if daily average migrant encounters reach 4,000 over a one-week span. Once the authority is triggered, the DHS secretary could decide to largely bar migrants from seeking asylum if they crossed the border unlawfully.
If migrant crossings increased above 5,000 on average per day on a given week, DHS would be required to use the authority. The authority sunsets after three years.
Migrants could still seek asylum at a port of entry. The bill would codify a process that requires the government to process 1,400 asylum applications at ports of entry, while also raising the standard for asylum and expediting the process.
Those who didn’t qualify for asylum will be swiftly deported.
