President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, a key agency in his domestic agenda. Noem, known for her stance on immigration and her refusal to implement a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to bring a strong focus on border security and immigration enforcement to the role.
The Biden administration is taking steps to address a loophole that allowed a man on the terrorist watchlist to enter the U.S. and roam free for over a year. The administration will allow officials prosecuting immigration cases to share classified information more easily, a change from a 2004 directive that made such information sharing more difficult.
The Biden administration is reportedly planning to announce an asylum regulation that would allow officials to remove some illegal immigrants earlier in the asylum process. The Department of Homeland Security is planning to issue a regulation that would apply bars to eligibility for those claiming asylum at the initial screening stage at the border rather than during the interview stage. Should migrants fail to meet those criteria, it would allow officials to expedite their removal. The rule would likely only apply to those who are screened for an asylum claim. The Biden administration last year implemented a broader asylum rule that makes illegal immigrants ineligible for asylum if they have crossed multiple countries without claiming asylum. The rule would also be far short of sweeping changes proposed by the Biden administration, which has called on Congress to provide additional funding and a sweeping immigration reform bill.
United States Senator Alex Padilla joined Inside California Politics to discuss the Senate’s vote to reject an impeachment trial for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He expressed his disappointment with the outcome, stating that it was a waste of time and energy that should have been invested in solving border issues. Senator Padilla also emphasized the need for comprehensive immigration reform and shared his efforts to establish the Chuckwalla National Monument.
