The acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday that a new rule virtually ending asylum protections for Central American migrants is actually starting out as a small “pilot.” The new asylum rule that went into effect earlier this week is supposed to make any migrants who pass through another country on their way to the U.S. ineligible for asylum, with few exceptions. Migrants are expected to first apply in the country they passed through. The rule is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. In an interview Thursday on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said the rule is currently only being applied at two Border Patrol stations in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, a significant change from what the Trump administration was advertising. “Although the new federal regulation allows us to apply that to all 2,000 miles along the southwest border, we’re not going to do that,” Morgan said. “We’re really piloting it in just one location.”

Here is @aoc asking DHS chief Kevin McAleenan about secret Facebook group for Border Patrol agents that was rife with offensive posts.



She tries to get him to answer about whether any agents in that group remain on duty at the border. pic.twitter.com/tNxOdrrtgb — Alexander Nazaryan (@alexnazaryan) July 18, 2019