U.S. to speed up asylum processing at northern border to deter migrant crossings

The Biden administration is planning to speed up the processing of asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Canada border in response to an unprecedented increase in migrant crossings there, according to internal Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by CBS News.

The effort involves two changes to how the U.S. processes migrants under a longstanding "Safe Third Country" asylum agreement with Canada. That accord, first signed in 2002 and expanded last year, allows U.S. and Canadian authorities to return asylum-seekers across their shared border under the premise that both nations are safe countries for people to request refuge.

The first change will require migrants to have their documents ready when U.S. asylum officers conduct screenings to determine if they are subject to the agreement with Canada. Previously, migrants could postpone those screenings to gather documents that could prove they merit an exemption to the deal. Certain groups, such as unaccompanied children and those with family members in the U.S., are not subject to the agreement.