WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — The Biden administration plans to propose a new rule Thursday aimed at speeding up the asylum claims process for eligible migrants, by turning away ineligible people sooner.

The biggest impact comes from how to handle migrants found to have criminal records or who would be considered a security risk – therefore ineligible for U.S. citizenship. Under the proposed regulation, a screening officer could make the decision to turn those people away, rather than allowing asylum until a judge makes the ruling.

The proposal, which the Department of Homeland Security plans to announce on Thursday, was confirmed by four people familiar with its contents who were granted anonymity to detail plans not yet public.

While the decision is expected to affect a small number of people, it could help ease a backlog for other cases to proceed.

It will likely be months before Thursday’s proposal, which was first reported by Politico, would actually go into effect.

Biden continues to mull larger executive action on the border, whose timing depends in large part on whether the number of illegal border crossings increases — they have been steadily decreasing since December.

The proposed rule also comes amid pressure from fellow Democrats and immigrant rights advocates to support immigrants already in the United States.

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