The Trump administration has implemented a secretive pilot program along the Texas border that slashes the time Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States have to prepare their immigration cases and aims to speed up a decision while in government custody, according to internal government documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.



The pilot program, titled Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP), targets Mexicans seeking asylum in the US who present themselves at the border in the El Paso, Texas, area by placing them in Border Patrol custody and processing their asylum screenings within 10 days.

Experts and those with knowledge of the program, which was quietly implemented in recent weeks, believe the aim of the expedited processing for Mexicans is clear.

“It’s another brick in the virtual wall they are creating to block asylum-seekers from entering the US,” said Sarah Pierce, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.

Under the program, Mexican asylum-seekers detained by Border Patrol agents are given an initial screening, called a credible fear interview, by US Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum officers within 48 hours. If a request for safe refuge is denied, immigrants can have an appeal heard over the phone by an immigration judge, according to government documents and those with knowledge of the policy.

A DHS spokesperson did not immediately have a comment on the program.

The effort appears to be the latest attempt by the Trump administration to experiment with policies aimed at quickly screening and potentially removing asylum-seekers at the border. The administration has overhauled the asylum system, which the president has frequently criticized, by forcing some asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are processed, and denying protections to those who have crossed through Mexico en route to the southern US border.

A similar pilot program, first reported by the Washington Post, targets those who are subject to a policy denying asylum for people who cross through Mexico. Mexican nationals, however, are not banned from obtaining asylum under that rule.