New regulations could deny asylum due to any criminal record

There are a lot of regulations in place for immigrants in this country. They are swiftly increasing, too, as the Trump administration holds true to promises to crack down on allowing undocumented people into the country. A current move is tightening restrictions for those who have a criminal background and could prevent many people in Texas from staying in the country.  Serious crimes may already prevent asylum seekers from entering the U.S., but a new regulation from the Trump administration aims to keep out those with even minor crimes and low-level offenses. The proposal includes banning those with domestic battery, DUI and the use of false documents. It would also include any federal or state conviction, street gang activity and drug possession as crimes that make a person ineligible for asylum. In some cases, it will take only an arrest to disqualify someone without the need for an actual conviction.  The reasoning is there is a record high number of people trying to come into the U.S. at this time. This creates a burden on the legal system trying to process everyone in and move them through the entrance process so that they can set up their lives in the country. The government needs to thin out the numbers to prevent backlogs in courts. The new regulations could help to easily finish up pending cases more quickly.  This would allow for more resources to go into the cases of qualifying asylum seekers. It would move along their cases more quickly so that they can get into the country and start their new lives as legal immigrants.  Source: The Washington Post 

Tune into our radio show
Punto Legal

Wednesdays, 5-6 pm

94.5 FM / Garfield & Mesa Counties

102.5 FM / Eagle County

107.1 / Summit County

Serving Western Colorado