US asylum officers are frustrated by policy whiplash under President Joe Biden, and some are considering leaving their posts, as administration officials contemplate restarting controversial Trump-era border policies that would largely limit who could seek refuge in the United States.
“At this point, I can’t tell the difference between Biden immigration policy and Trump immigration policy,” one asylum officer told CNN.
The concerns shared among asylum officers who spoke with CNN and were reflected in a March filing come as Biden stares down another potential border crisis next month when a Covid-era restriction, known as Title 42, lifts.
The authority, invoked under former President Donald Trump at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, allows border officials to turn away certain migrants encountered at the US southern border. It’s set to expire on May 11 when the Covid-19 public health emergency ends.
White House and Homeland Security officials have been frequently meeting ahead of an anticipated influx of people at the border when the authority lifts and weighing policies that, they hope, will help manage the flow.
But those policies, some of which echo Trump administration actions, are putting Biden at odds with his allies and even among some in the workforce, including asylum officers who interview asylum seekers.
“It feels like Groundhog Day,” another asylum officer told CNN. “With the Trump era, it felt like we had really gotten to rock bottom and when Biden took over, it seemed like a light ahead of us. It feels very disheartening.”
“If this is just going to be repeating over and over, there are so many other things I could be doing,” the asylum officer added.
A major point of contention is a new proposed regulation that largely bars migrants who traveled through other countries on their way to…
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