Immigrant-Turned-Senator To Introduce Bill That Would Heavily Restrict Access To Asylum

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, a Colombian immigrant, is set to introduce a bill aimed at significantly curbing asylum seeking in the United States, Axios reported on Thursday.

It will be the first piece of legislation introduced by Moreno, who won the most expensive Senate campaign in history after beating incumbent Sherrod Brown in Ohio. His campaign heavily focused on immigration enforcement.

The outlet added that some of the policies included in the bill mirror some executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, including Remain in Mexico. Moreno's bill will be titled Refugees Using Legal Entry Safely Act (RULES) and, among other things, it would also: require asylum seekers to file applications at legal ports of entry, rejecting those who try to enter the country between them; stop releasing seekers into the U.S. before their cases are decided; prevent people from applying more than once if their cases have been rejected.

"Our broken asylum system has overwhelmed our borders with millions of migrants who enter the country illegally, claim asylum, and are just released into the country," Moreno said in a statement ahead of introducing the bill.

Agents at the border are reportedly being given similar orders, with CBS News detailing instructions to swiftly deport migrants without allowing them to request asylum. Trump is citing a provision of immigration law known as 212 (f) that allows him to suspend entries considered "detrimental" to the country.

Officials said migrants won't be allowed to see immigration judges or asylum officers under the edict, which suspends U.S. obligations under domestic and international law seeking to protect people fleeing persecution. Migrants are being deported after having their biometrics and fingerprints taken. Those who are not from Mexico are detained pending their deportation, while those with criminal histories are subject to prosecution.

The Trump administration is also considering the deployment of as many as 10,000 troops to the border. Trump's executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border includes directing the Department of Defense (DoD) to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in taking full operational control of the border, including building barriers to block migrants and assisting CBP with its mission.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Wednesday the first deployment of 1,500 active duty troops to the border, who will join the some 2,200 National Guard and Reserve forces already there.

The document also lays out plans to expand the detention capacity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying the agency is requesting 14 new facilities to hold up to 1,000 detainees each, plus four larger facilities capable of housing up to 10,000 migrants.