Biden administration to propose new rule for asylum seekers

The Biden administration is expected to propose a new rule Thursday that would accelerate the pace at which certain migrants could be processed and barred from asylum after crossing the southern border, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

The regulation, which had been in the works for months and will be published by the Department of Homeland Security, seeks to cut down on illegal border crossings. It would specifically target people who are deemed ineligible for asylum due to criminal records or who are assessed to be national security risks, one of the sources said.

The asylum process sometimes can take years and this proposed rule will aim to shorten that time period substantially for those deemed ineligible.

This is not considered the major executive action that NBC News has been previewing for months and which could still materialize in the near term.

The White House declined to comment.

As the Biden administration weighs more sweeping executive action on the border that could affect the asylum process, across Pennsylvania Avenue Senate Democrats had an initial closed-door conversation Wednesday on what legislative steps they could take.

“I think the starting point for the discussion is the bipartisan deal that was negotiated, so we’ll start there. Do we subtract a little bit, do we add a little bit? We don’t know yet,” Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., told NBC News after the meeting. “Everybody realizes we are going to have a meaningful discussion about it in the coming weeks.”

NBC reported on Monday that Democrats in the Senate could force “messaging” votes on immigration and border-related provisions that Republicans would likely block.

Republicans blocked the bipartisan package negotiated by Senators