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This bill, the Asylum Abuse Reduction Act, would require asylum officers at U.S. embassies and consulates to conduct credible fear screenings before admitting unauthorized immigrants entering from Canada or Mexico who are seeking asylum into the United States. Under this process, immigration officers wouldn’t be able to admit unauthorized immigrants into the U.S., and would instead have to instruct them to schedule an asylum hearing with the most convenient U.S. embassy in Canada or Mexico. During these hearings, asylum officers would conduct in-person interviews to determine whether the unauthorized immigrant meets the requirements to be granted asylum in the U.S. Unauthorized immigrants could be granted asylum if they: Had been persecuted in their country of origin on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; or would be subject to torture if they returned to their country of origin.

Failure to show up for immigration court would result in a bench warrant for an unauthorized immigrant’s arrest.

This bill would also make the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS Secretary) responsible for establishing an alternatives to detention pilot program. Under such a program, unauthorized immigrants could be released into the supervision of qualified organizations with federal government contracts to facilitate their compliance with all stages of their immigration proceedings.

Unauthorized immigrants could only participate in the pilot program if they:

Certify that they will comply with all stages of the immigration proceedings, including removal, if ordered;
Acknowledge that they are only entitled to a single appeal of an immigration judge’s decision; and
Sign a privacy waiver.

Unauthorized immigrants who fail to comply with the requirements of the pilot program could be subject to arrest, detention, and expedited removal proceedings.

The DHS Secretary, in consultation with the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), would be responsible for developing performance metrics for organizations that run pilot programs. These metrics would include rates of absconsion, arrest, completion of immigration cases, and any other metrics that the Secretary determines measure compliance with performance standards. If an organization running a pilot program failed to comply with performance standards, the DHS Secretary could require it to return funds paid to it during the noncompliance period, terminate its contract, or impose any other penalty authorized by the contract.

Finally, the DHS Secretary would submit a report to to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives on the implementation of the alternatives to detention pilot program.

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Should Asylum Seekers Undergo 'Credible Fear' Screenings Before Entering the U.S.?