WASHINGTON: The US Homeland Security Department on Thursday proposed a new law that would allow faster expulsion of asylum seekers who have been convicted of serious crimes.
President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election in November, is under continuous attack from Republicans, led by his opponent Donald Trump, with allegations that he is allowing undocumented people to cross over the southern US border.
The proposal published would allow authorities to dismiss claims from asylum seekers with some criminal backgrounds within days of their arrival in the United States.
Homeland Security in a statement said the applicants currently are allowed to stay in the country until their cases go before an immigration judge, a process that can take years to conclude.
The proposed law will go into effect after a 30-day period of public debate.
It will allow for identifying quickly and removing those individuals who pose a security risk and have no legal basis to remain in the country, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
The department said under the law people convicted of a serious crime, took part in others’ persecution, are inadmissible on national security or terrorism-related grounds.
According to the government figures US authorities in March arrested nearly 190,000 people who crossed the border with Mexico without permission. Most of the people who crossed the border were Latin American.
