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Title 42 Immigration: Proposed Rule on Third-Country Transit Asylum

The proposed rule on third-country transit asylum seeks to address the implications of Title 42 immigration policies. This affects the flow of migrants at the U.S./Mexican border.

On February 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule regarding third-country transit asylum. The Title 42 Immigration Public Health rule by DHS blocked the majority of asylum-seekering immigrants at the border during COVID. DHS needed another tool and reason to block the overwhelming flow of migrants at the U.S./Mexican border. It found this tool in the Third Country Transit Ban.

Political Asylum and other forms of Asylum for people who are being persecuted in their home country and can only feel safe in U.S.

When immigrants seek asylum, it means they are asking for protection and safety in a country different from their own. This is due to danger or persecution in their home country. The proposed rule by DHS relates to a specific situation. It applies when asylum-seekers travel through a third country before reaching the United States.

This rule affects asylum seekers who arrives at the US border having traveled through another country first. The US government would require them to first seek asylum in that third country they passed through. Even when they spent time in Mexico where they need to be to even apply for U.S. Asylum, Mexico is also considered a ‘third country’ for this purpose. If an asylum seeker had the opportunity to request protection in a safe country along their journey, they should do so. This would happen instead of continuing all the way to the United States.

The proposed rule aims to ensure that asylum seekers exhaust all available options for protection before reaching the US border. It suggests that if an asylum seeker passes through a safe country where they could have sought protection, they should do so instead of traveling further to the United States to request asylum.

The purpose of this rule is to manage the asylum process and prevent what some may call “asylum shopping,” where individuals choose which country they want to seek asylum in based on potential benefits or preferences.

This means that asylum-seeking immigrants must demonstrate their efforts to ask for Asylum in third countries or explain in their U.S. Asylum application why they failed to so apply.

Understanding the implications of Title 42 immigration policies is crucial for navigating the complex landscape of asylum-seeking and immigration in the United States.

In today’s U.S. Immigration system, you need an immigration lawyer on your side more than ever. We can be your partners in the U.S. Immigration journey and our team is here for you.

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