The White House is preparing new policies that will expedite the processing of so-called asylum seekers who attempt to enter the United State across the U.S.-Canada border, including at locations in Maine.

The policy change, first revealed in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document originally obtained by CBS News, may lead to more asylum applicants awaiting adjudication of their claims in Canada rather than in the U.S.

“DHS carefully reviewed its implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline that process at the border without impacting noncitizens’ ability to have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection,” a DHS official told CBS News.

According to internal DHS documents acquired by CBS, the Biden Administration plans to expedite the process for asylum seekers coming through the U.S.-Canada border, the largest land border in the world. The new rules are intended to increase the speed with which Customs and Border Patrol can return asylum seekers back to Canada.

Under the current Safe Third Country Agreement between the U.S. and Canada, an asylum seeker entering the U.S. through its northern border can be returned to Canada, and vice versa, since both countries are considered safe places of refuge.

The treaty assumes that, with few exceptions, someone already in Canada does not have a justified asylum claim in the United States.

The treaty does allow for some exceptions, however, if, for example, the asylum seeker has family members already living in the U.S.

Under the new rules, anyone claiming asylum at the northern border will be required to have documents proving their eligibility for asylum at the ready during asylum screenings.

Without the new rules, asylum seekers were permitted to postpone the screenings while they searched for documents to prove their claim, which significantly delayed their removal if they were not exempt from the treaty.

The new rules also change the policy regarding legal representation for asylum seekers.

Previously, asylum screenings were required to wait until an asylum seeker had at least 24 hours to consult with a lawyer.

The new rules dramatically reduce the time to only four hours, which will also serve to expedite the asylum or removal process.

According to the documents reviewed by CBS, the new rules are set to take effect on Wednesday.

The changes come as the number of illegal crossings at the northern border has grown significantly under President Joe Biden.

According to documents acquired by the New York Post, a record-breaking 3,600 illegal immigrants were found crossing the northern border in June, while current data shows that 2024 has already seen an all-time high of 16,500 illegal crossings.

In early June, President Biden signed an executive order that ostensibly reduced the number of asylum seekers allowed across the southern border, although numerous critics claimed that the measure would do nothing to curtail illegal immigration.

That executive order did nothing to slow the entry of illegal immigrants entering through Canada.