White House backs Stephen Miller proposal to let Border Patrol agents to conduct asylum interviews

By Geneva Sands, Priscilla Alvarez and Evan Perez, CNN
Updated 1727 GMT (0127 HKT) May 8, 2019

Washington (CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security is moving to have front line Border Patrol agents assess migrants' initial claims for refuge, an aggressive step pushed by White House adviser Stephen Miller that could make the asylum claim process more difficult for migrants.

Miller has pushed for months to have Border Patrol conduct these interviews, according to a US official, despite agency concerns it adds more duties to an already overburdened force and immigration advocates' worries it will result in deportations with without the opportunity to apply for asylum.

Currently, US Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum officers conduct the credible fear interview, wherein officers will decide whether an individual has a "credible fear of persecution" that could make them eligible for asylum in the United States.

In March, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen agreed to a pilot project, in part as a way to satisfy Miller's demands while trying to ensure it could be done effectively within legal bounds and without affecting border security operations, the official added.

Nielsen left the administration last month, as President Donald Trump and White House immigration hardliners, including Miller, deemed her insufficiently tough when it came to stemming the flow of migrants at the border.

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