The Immigration lawyer Willy Allen issued a direct warning on Monday to those thinking of presenting themselves at the border to seek asylum: “I still wouldn't recommend anyone enter through the border. At this moment, I would not advise you to present yourself,” he said in response to a viewer's question on his weekly program that has been running for two years on CiberCuba.
Allen made these statements in an interview with Tania Costa in which he analyzed the current migration scenario, marked by the massive expansion of ICE agents announced by Tom Homan, the so-called "border czar," who has announced the addition of 7,000 new agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with another 3,000 in training.
The lawyer acknowledged that a federal court ordered the borders to be opened to receive asylum requests, but cautioned that under the Trump administration, this opening will be very difficult to implement in practice.
"I suspect that the people who are allowed to enter or who can enter will have to apply for their full asylum while in detention. And if they lose, they will be deported to their countries," Allen explained.
The specific mechanism that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designs for processing asylum applications at the border, according to the attorney, will be "tied to detention centers," making the process a "very, very difficult and problematic" pathway.
Allen emphasized that winning an asylum case while detained under the current Administration will be extremely challenging: "Winning a trial while in detention with this Government and with the judges they have appointed and those who have voted will be interesting," he stated.
One of the greatest practical difficulties identified is communication with detainees. "One of the things that complicates the defense of someone in detention is that there are many challenges in communicating with the detainee, and they are also transferred between centers," she warned, adding that she has already had two disputes via videoconference with new judges appointed by the Administration.
Willy Allen also warned about the expansion of detention centers. "I believe that the growth of detention centers will result in entire families being detained."
According to Allen, up to 75% of individuals detained by ICE have no criminal records, meaning that no one is completely safe from detention.
Despite the bleak outlook, the lawyer did not rule out the possibility of the situation changing. “I believe that the federal courts, sooner rather than later, will order that there must be some way for a person at the border to request their asylum,” he stated, noting that we will have to wait to see how the operation unfolds and what specific mechanism the DHS establishes.
The week prior to the interview, Allen's team achieved victories in federal courts, including the release of three detained individuals.
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