Attorney General William Barr has recently changed the rules for detaining some asylum-seekers.  He has ordered that those seeking asylum who are caught crossing the border illegally be held without bond until an expedited ruling can be made on their status.

Naturally, this has elicited howls of outrage from the Left.  The L.A. Times called the rule change "deplorable."  But examining the rule objectively, it's easy to come to the conclusion that this rule change is necessary to protect our borders.

Jonathan Tobin explains in National Review:

The Border Patrol's resources have been stretched to the limit as large numbers of migrants from Central America have been crossing the southern border.  Some of these individuals request asylum at a port of entry, which is the preferred process.  But others enter the country illegally and claim asylum only when they are caught.

Under the current asylum system, anyone who makes such a claim could be immediately paroled into the United States to await the adjudication of his or her case by federal immigration courts.  Many of those who do so fade into the shadows instead of showing up to court, knowing they cannot show they are actually eligible for asylum in the U.S.  While liberals have blasted Trump for using the phrase "catch and release" to depict the process by which Central American asylum seekers have been treated after crossing the border, it accurately describes a process that is adding to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants [sic] already here.

One might sympathize with the plight of people coming from poverty-stricken countries hoping for a fresh start in America, and the law gives illegal immigrants [sic] the right to request asylum from within the country.  But the fact that so many are using frivolous asylum requests as a get-out-of-jail-free card after they get caught breaking the law is both overwhelming the system and making a mockery of the intent of our asylum policies.

That's where Barr's order, which the Justice Department is clearly hoping will act to deter faux asylum seekers from entering the United States, comes in.  The new guidelines are targeted specifically at those who are taking advantage of the system: Those caught crossing illegally into the United States will be held until the courts can decide whether they may stay, rather than being released into the country.  It will not affect those who arrived at a port of entry and asked for asylum in a manner befitting persons who believe they have a valid claim.  Nor will it affect families or unaccompanied children, putting the lie to the assertion that this measure is analogous to the family-separation fiasco.

The left believes it's somehow cruel and deplorable for the government not to believe everyone who sneaks over the border and then, suddenly, gets religion and asks for asylum.  How dare the government not believe border jumpers?  These people only "want a better life."  Who are we to deny them their dreams?

Well, we are a sovereign nation who should have the same right to say who can come into the country and who can't that 195 other nations have.  That the U.S. should be denied the exercise of its sovereignty is ludicrous. 

If nothing else, denying these fake asylum-seekers bail might deter others from trying the same trick.  And given the burden on our immigration system, that makes Barr's new policy vitally necessary to protect the border.