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September 1996.  The most onerous and potentially damaging

of the asylum reforms enacted are (1) the imposition of a

deadline for the submission of all asylum applications and

(2) the creation of expedited procedures to remove and send

back to their countries of nationality people without the

required documents who are seeking entry to the United

States.  Beginning April 2, 1998, people who want to apply

for asylum (either affirmatively or as a defense to removal)

must file an application with the INS within one year of

arriving in the United States, subject to changed and ex-

traordinary circumstances.25  The expedited removal provi-

sions took effect on April 1, 1997.

The expedited procedures are designed to remove aliens

who arrive in the United States without proper travel docu-

ments26 or who are suspected of carrying documents that were

procured by fraud27 and who might not be fleeing persecu-

tion.  A single immigration officer at an airport or other

port of entry will screen each member of that class of

arriving aliens to determine whether someone intends to

apply for asylum or fears persecution.28  If the officer

thinks that the person does not fear persecution, he or she

will order the person summarily removed from the United

States and bar him or her from reentering for five years,

without any further hearing or judicial oversight.

Those people arriving who do express fear or want to

apply for asylum will immediately be transferred to a deten-

tion center.  There an asylum officer will conduct an inter-

view to determine whether the person has a "credible fear"

of persecution.

If the asylum officer determines that the person does

not have a credible fear of persecution, then that person

must affirmatively request a review by an immigration judge.

There is no right to judicial review.29  The review before

the immigration judge is expedited and limited.  That is,

the review must be concluded no later than seven days after

the credible fear determination and need not even be con-

ducted in person; it can be conducted by telephone or video

connection.  Asylum seekers cannot be represented by legal

counsel at the immigration judge review (although counsel

may be present), may not present evidence, and may not call

witnesses.30  In many instances, they will not be released

from detention until they are granted asylum by an immigra-

tion judge.