TUCSON — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is pushing for the implementation of a pilot program along the U.S.-Mexico border that aims to more quickly screen and remove migrant families without valid legal claims for asylum in the United States.
Sinema, D-Ariz., joined a bipartisan group with eight other senators who sent a letter Wednesday to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan describing their proposed program, dubbed "Operation Safe Return."
...Besides Sinema and Johnson, the letter was signed by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Joe Manchin D-W.Va.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Doug Jones, D-Ala.; Michael Enzi, R-Wyo.; John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; and John Cornyn, R-Texas.
The program would allow the Department of Homeland Security to deport certain migrants within 15 days, according to the letter, and would help alleviate overcrowding at border facilities, Sinema said.
"This pilot program would apply to families who aren't claiming 'credible fear,' which of course is the first threshold in seeking asylum," Sinema told The Arizona Republic. "If someone says 'I left my country because I can't make a living,' (or) 'it's hard to take care of my family' — that's what we call an economic migrant."
But the idea for the pilot program has raised concerns from migrant advocates who worry that speeding up the process could lead to cases of valid claims being wrongfully denied and migrant families returned to dangerous situations.
Ruben Reyes, a board member with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said he worried about a botched implementation similar to last year's family separations, which sparked a national furor.
"We still have children who are missing in the system," Reyes said. "So we can't take this letter outside of the context of what's happened for the year and a half."
Under "Safe Return," Border Patrol agents would have one to three days to conduct "detailed, fair and accurate interviews" with migrant families to determine if families express a fear of return. If they don't, they would be immediately deported to their home countries.
For families who claim fear, asylum officers working for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Officers would have nine days after their apprehension to conduct a credible-fear interview. During the next six days, Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, which runs immigration and asylum courts, would make a determination about the case.
Families who pass the credible-fear screening would have the chance to claim asylum and be released under alternative-to-detention programs.
"Within approximately 15 days after being encountered, the Department of Homeland Security should remove family units whose negative credible fear determinations are affirmed by the immigration judge," the letter says.
