Trump administration to block asylum for migrants coming through Mexico

The Trump administration moved Monday to block most migrants who cross the US southern border after passing through Mexico from seeking asylum.

The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement issued with the Department of Justice, said the interim rule would set a “new bar” for immigrants “by placing further restrictions or limitations on eligibility for aliens who seek asylum in the United States.”

"The United States is a generous country but is being completely overwhelmed by the burdens associated with apprehending and processing hundreds of thousands of aliens along the southern border," Attorney General Bill Barr said in a statement.

"This rule will decrease forum shopping by economic migrants and those who seek to exploit our asylum system to obtain entry to the United States," Barr added.

The White House's new rule targets the recent stream of hundreds of thousands of migrants from Central America and other countries who have tried to cross into the United States from Mexico and request asylum to gain a foothold inside the country.

The new rule declares any migrant who enters the United States from the southern border and who have not asked for asylum in any of the countries they cross to get to the United States ineligible for asylum.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said the initiative would “help reduce a major ‘pull’ factor driving irregular migration to the United States.”

The rule includes exceptions for people who can demonstrate they are victims of torture or persecution, but US immigration officials have made clear they consider most of the recent migrants from Central America to be economic migrants, and thus not qualified for asylum.