Lawyers Say Helping Asylum Seekers in Border Custody Is Nearly Impossible –The New York Times

The Biden administration changed the way “credible fear” interviews are conducted and raised the bar for who is eligible to seek asylum.

By Eileen Sullivan

Reporting from Washington

July 22, 2023

In the first weeks after President Biden’s new border policies were put in place, his administration recorded a sharp drop in the number of people allowed to apply for asylum after crossing into the United States illegally.

But lawyers who counsel migrants seeking asylum say the changes make it nearly impossible for them to do their jobs and leave the people most in need of protection struggling to find help.

Lawyers cannot meet with clients who are in the custody of Border Patrol. Or call them. Or leave messages for them. There is no system to find out where a client is being held. And the government sets the schedules for key meetings when a lawyer should be present and changes dates and times often without notification. Read full article.