President Biden’s new asylum policy ‘universally rejected’ by defenders

Immigration advocates and some Democrats have condemned the Biden administration’s proposal to restore the Trump-era asylum transit ban.

The proposed rule would deprive most migrants who cross the border illegally of the right to receive asylum. The rule will also apply to migrants who have not applied for asylum in the country they are passing through before reaching the southern border.

“Almost universally, it is rejected by advocates who are ready to welcome people,” said Blaine Bookie, legal director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies.

The Biden Rule is very similar to the asylum ban that the Trump administration tried to enforce in 2019. The main difference is that Biden’s plan is limited to migrants who cross the border illegally, while Trump’s ban also extended to migrants who tried to cross the border at legal entry points. . Biden’s plan also provides for more exemptions for unaccompanied children and migrants who use the Customs and Border Protection One app to book an appointment.

The White House has dropped comparisons to Trump. But proponents say the comparisons are entirely fair.

“The reality is that if Trump’s ban applied to 99% of the people, it would probably apply to 70% to 80% of the people,” said Aaron Reuchlin-Melnick, policy director for the American Immigration Council.

The ACLU has already announced plans to sue the Biden administration.

Organizations such as the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center have also sued the Trump administration. over his ban. A federal judge ultimately ruled in their favor because the Trump administration failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how agencies must apply the new rules.

The Biden administration appears to be enforcing the Administrative Procedure Act. Officials have announced a 30-day public comment period before the policy goes into effect on May 11. The final version of the proposed rule may change in the near future.

Democrats have criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policy, specifically noting that “Congress has also made it clear that seeking asylum at the border, ‘whether at a designated port of entry or not,’ is legal.” in a letter signed by more than 70 elected officials, including Congressman Juan Vargas.

Representatives Mike Levine, Sarah Jacobs, Scott Peters and Darrell Issa did not sign the letter.

Dozens of human rights organizations issued statements condemning the proposed rule, including the Haitian Bridge Alliance, Alianza Americas, the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the American Friends Service Committee.

Advocates said the ban on asylum for people who illegally cross the country would be a historic departure from US asylum policy that dates back to World War II.

According to Buka, international and US asylum laws are specifically written to reflect how vulnerable migrants are.

“Often, bona fide refugees don’t have travel documents, or they run under the cover of night with just a shirt on their backs to save their lives,” she said.

Despite promising to restore a humane asylum system, the Biden administration echoes Trump-era rhetoric that portrays asylum as a burden, she said.

In defense of the backlash, administration officials pointed to recent efforts to expand legal routes into the country, in particular humanitarian parole programs. Officials said the new policy is meant to encourage migrants to use legal routes into the country rather than illegally.

Some advocates do not believe this logic.

“For the administration, the statement ‘we want to encourage people to use these legal routes’ is hypocritical because asylum is legal no matter how you enter the United States,” Reichlin-Melnick said.

Biden has faced constant pressure from Republicans over his administration’s actions on the southern border.

Activists fear President Biden is under pressure to influence his political decisions.

“The only metric the administration is using right now is whether we are seeing a decline in the number of people arriving at the border,” Buki said. “We just push people to die or get hurt somewhere else. Just not at our doorstep.”