Biden's 21-point immigration plan includes resumption of expedited removal

July 27 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Tuesday introduced a 21-point plan outlining its full strategy on immigration, including a process to speed up removals.

The fact-sheet released by the White House pledges the United States can "have an orderly, secure, and well-managed border while treating people fairly and humanely" while announcing policies including the resumption of "expedited removal."

"We will always be a nation of borders, and we will enforce our immigration laws in a way that is fair and just. We will continue to work to fortify an orderly immigration system," the White House said.

The plan expanded on an announcement by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday that the administration will resume the process of expedited removal, which allows immigration authorities to remove individuals and families without a hearing before an immigration judge.

The White House said the administration is working to improve the process "to fairly and efficiently determine which individuals have legitimate claims for asylum and other forms of protection."

"Asylum and other legal migration pathways should remain available to those seeking protection. Those not seeking protection or who don't qualify will be promptly removed to their countries of origin," the fact-sheet states.

The Department of Homeland Security said the process will apply to families who can't be expelled under Title 42, which allows border officials to immediately expel migrants found between ports of entry where a communicable disease was present.

Title 42 has been evoked to remove migrants with immigration officials citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Border patrol agents encountered 188,800 people in June and apprehended 55,805 family members and 15,253 unaccompanied minors, with 14% of families intercepted expelled under Title 42, The New York Times reported.

Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sued the government to end Title 42, condemned the decision.

"Jamming desperate families through an expedited asylum process would deny them the most basic due process and can hardly be called humane," Gelernt said.

Additionally, the administration plans to redirect resources from U.S. Customs and Border Protection's $15 billion budget "from a needless border wall" to projects including improving border technology and modernizing land ports of entry.

The plan makes commitments to strengthen U.S. collaboration with other nations to manage migration, including restarting and expanding the Central American Minors Program, which allows children to receive protection and reunite with parents in the United States.

Under the fiscal year 2022 budget, the White House has allocated $861 million "to address the root causes of migration" by seeking to address the lack of economic opportunity, government corruption and violence in countries that migrants flee to enter the United States.