Immigration advocates marked the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s asylum ban by lamenting the policy’s devastating effects on migrants and by warning that even more drastic anti-immigrant actions could be on the way.
“Our members have seen the immense human suffering that has resulted from this asylum ban over the past year,” said Melina Roche, #WelcomeWithDignity campaign manager.
The Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Rule was implemented May 11, 2023, to reduce the number of migrants eligible to apply for asylum protections in the United States. It replaced Title 42, a pandemic-era policy used by the Trump and Biden administrations to swiftly expel asylum seekers by sidestepping humanitarian protections guaranteed under U.S. and international law.
Pedro De Velasco
“One year ago, we welcomed the end of Title 42. We finally said goodbye to an inhumane policy that used a tragic, global pandemic as a pretext to block people fleeing violence and persecution from finding safety,” said Pedro De Velasco, director of education and advocacy with the Kino Border Initiative.
But the challenges facing asylum seekers are just as stark today as they were 12 months ago, De Velasco added.
“Today, just like in the days of Title 42, we see individuals and families stranded in border cities, forced to wait months before being able to access safety for themselves and their loved ones. Today, just like in the days of Title 42, we see individuals and families who crossed to seek asylum being returned to Mexico after their asylum claims were summarily ignored. Today, just like a year ago, the right to seek asylum remains cruelly obstructed, leaving protection out of reach for many of the people who need it most.”
With few exceptions, the Biden policy denies asylum to migrants who cross the border illegally or who arrive at designed ports of entry without first making appointments using the CBP One smartphone app.
The app has been criticized for requiring asylum seekers to languish for months in squalid and dangerous conditions in Mexico as they await appointments in the U.S., and for being of use only to those migrants with smartphones and Wi-Fi access. The app also has been known to be slow and plagued with glitches. In addition, migrants are blocked from entering the U.S. for five years if they did not seek asylum in other countries enroute to the southern border.
“The Biden administration cannot continue down this path and must end the asylum ban once and for all and live up to our country’s promise as a welcoming nation for all.”
“The United States has a moral and legal obligation to protect all people who seek safety in our country,” said Amy Fischer, director for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA. “The Biden administration cannot continue down this path and must end the asylum ban once and for all and live up to our country’s promise as a welcoming nation for all.”
Amy Fischer
But #WelcomeWithDignity and other asylum-rights groups warned the White House is planning to make it even harder for some refugees to receive asylum in the U.S.
The administration is expected to announce a rule allowing Customs and Border Protection agents to determine a migrant’s asylum eligibility much earlier in the screening process, Politico reported May 8. Those deemed to be national security or criminal threats could be removed without the usual in-depth background checks or hearings.
The proposal is one of many Biden is considering since a bipartisan immigration bill failed in Congress recently. The legislation included expedited-but-tougher asylum rules and would have provided paths to legal employment and residency for some undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S.
Asylum advocates have urged the administration to avoid implementing further asylum restrictions unilaterally, noting the right of persecuted migrants to seek protection is enshrined in American and international law. #WelcomeWithDignity cited a Fox News survey that found 73% of Americans favor expanding legal pathways into the U.S. for immigrants.
Marisa Limón Garza
Besides, asylum restrictions are proved only to worsen the nation’s border situation, said Marisa Limón Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.
“From the people we serve every day, we know that policies like the asylum ban only drive individuals toward dangerous routes, often guided by criminals who exploit them,” she said. “Every day, mothers, fathers, children and other newcomers seek safety and a better life for themselves and their families at our borders. They come despite the U.S. government’s discouragement of migrants seeking to enter the country through Mexico, whether by erecting walls or restricting asylum. This ‘deterrence’ is not only cruel, it does not work, as decades of failed U.S. efforts prove.”
Sunil Varghese, policy director at the International Refugee Assistance Project, said the administration’s current ban hasn’t even satisfied the demands of conservatives who demand draconian border measures.
“The ban has unjustly denied protection to people seeking safety in the United States and returned them to danger, while doing nothing to appease the anti-immigrant fearmongers who drove the administration to adopt this policy in the first place. The only way to achieve an orderly and humane border is to expand legal pathways to safety and restore full access to a strengthened asylum system.”
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