Easy Steps

BY DARA LIND

Back in February, when the Biden administration proposed a new regulation that would essentially restrict the vast majority of border crossers from qualifying for asylum, we broke it down with a guide to qualifying for asylum in the United States in 12 not-so-easy steps. The final regulation, published Wednesday, will go into effect Friday with the end of the Title 42 “public health” emergency. The final regulation has been tweaked from the vague draft text, so we’ve modified our not-so-easy steps—which still, let us remind you, are not legal advice—accordingly. Come Friday, this will become the process many people will be forced to go through to find safety on U.S. soil.

Step 1: If you are from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Ukraine or Venezuela, and you have not irregularly entered Panama (through the Darién) or Mexico: go to step 2. If not, go to step 3.

Step 2: If you have people in the U.S. willing to sponsor you who make