12 JAN 2022
ICYMI: Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members, Senators Booker, Menendez, Luján, Padilla, and Faith and Advocacy Groups Criticize Biden's Plan to Enact Trump- Asylum Ban
WASHINGTON, DC – Since President Biden announced his new immigration policies last Thursday, elected officials, advocacy organizations including faith and human rights groups, and other leaders have publicly conveyed their disappointment with the plan, which includes the extension of Trump-era policy Title 42 and recycles Trump’s “transit ban” at the southern border.
The rule would deny children and families who are fleeing persecution and dangerous conditions the right to legally seek protection at the border, effectively denying asylum to anyone who cannot prove that they sought and were denied asylum in a country they passed through on their way to the U.S. border. Ultimately, people would be forced to return to violence, torture or persecution abroad.
If implemented, this policy would mar the president’s promise to build a just and humane immigration system and bring back a Trump ban that was once revoked by the courts. It tramples on our proudest traditions as a welcoming nation and returns to policies that never had a place in America’s future.
In case you missed it…
U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) released the following joint statement on the border policies announced by the Biden Administration today, which include the extension of Title 42 and imposing a “transit ban” in the southern border:
“While we understand the challenges the nation is facing at the Southern border exacerbated by Republican obstruction to modernizing our immigration system, we are deeply disappointed by the Biden Administration’s decision to expand the use of Title 42. Continuing to use this failed and inhumane Trump-era policy put in place to address a public health crisis will do nothing to restore the rule of law at the border. Instead, it will increase border crossings over time and further enrich human smuggling networks. We are pleased to see an increase in the access to parole for Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Haitians, but this narrow benefit will exclude thousands of migrants fleeing violence and persecution who do not have the ability or economic means to qualify for the new parole process.”
The Hill | Hispanic Caucus split between rage and lukewarm reception to Biden’s new border plan
Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), in her first major statement as chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), praised the administration’s expanded legal pathways but expressed disappointment with the Title 42 expansion at the border. [...]
“The Congressional Hispanic Caucus welcomes the Administration’s efforts to expand legal pathways for refugees and asylum seekers but is disappointed with the expansion of the failed Trump-era Title 42 policy that has denied asylum seekers their rights to due process for far too long.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), a former CHC chair, released his own statement later Friday, issuing a strongly worded condemnation of the administration’s plans that contrasted with the careful balance adopted by Barragán.
“I am deeply disappointed to see the Biden administration extending failed Trump-era immigration policies that exacerbate chaos and irregular migration at the Southern border,” Castro said. [...]
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), a vice chair of the CHC, said he shared his colleagues’ concerns with the plan but praised Mayorkas as a DHS chief who “has strong empathy and more support than anybody else in that position before him for immigrants.”
Still, Espaillat said the administration and other stakeholders were missing the core issue that’s created the migrant crisis, a “crisis of democracy in the Americas.”
Axios | Hispanic lawmakers grill Mayorkas over new border policies
What we're hearing: Some members on the call felt blindsided by the policies announced by the president and the secretary on Thursday, two Congressional Hispanic Caucus members told Axios.
There was particular concern about the proposed rule, which would potentially bar from asylum migrants who do not first seek legal pathways to the U.S. or apply for protection in a country they transited through to get to the U.S.
Comparisons to the Trump administration — and specifically Stephen Miller policies— were raised, the sources said.
Still, some border legislators were more supportive of the administration.
Jonathan Blazer, director of border strategies at the ACLU, had the following reaction:
“President Biden has repeatedly voiced his commitment to protecting the fundamental and longstanding right to seek asylum. Yet, his administration has too often taken actions that undermine his own promises and the U.S. asylum system. If he were to revive Trump and Stephen Miller’s transit ban — cutting off life-saving access to asylum for all migrants other than people from Mexico — there would no longer be a shred of pretense that he is committed to protecting those fleeing persecution and violence. The ACLU strongly urges President Biden to change course and remove this inhumane policy from consideration.”
“While we welcome the new parole programs for some people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, it is very concerning that other asylum-seekers from those countries will be rapidly expelled. It is also alarming that the Biden administration is increasing its use of expedited removal to rapidly remove immigrants and subjecting them to a five-year ban from re-entering the United States.
“Real solutions will only come when Republicans abandon their hateful rhetoric and stop demonizing immigrants and asylum-seekers, and Congress fixes our long-broken immigration system. The Biden administration has a legal and moral obligation to put humanitarian needs first, protect the rights of asylum-seekers, restore our asylum laws, and once and for all end the cruel, racist anti-asylum policies the Trump administration put in place. America’s moms want every asylum-seeker to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.”
Human Rights Watch | Biden Expands Trump-era Border Restrictions Once Again
“The Biden administration also announced plans to restrict access to asylum for people who travel through other countries before reaching the US. This proposed “transit ban” is akin to other Trump-era policies that resulted in human rights abuses for migrants returned to countries like Guatemala, as documented by Human Rights Watch in 2020.
“Instead of expanding and reviving abusive Trump-era policies, the Biden administration should respect the right to seek asylum for all people and families, and create a new and orderly process for responding to migrants’ various rights-based rationales for seeking to enter the country. That includes people seeking asylum from persecution, adapting to the effects of climate change, returning to places in the US where noncitizens may have resided for many years, or reuniting with family members.”
US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants | Expanding Title 42, Again, Fails Even More Asylum Seekers
“While USCRI welcomes the creation of a safe pathway to bring some Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to the United States, we are extremely concerned about the continued and expanded use of Title 42, the inconsistent provision of parole to different populations, and of forewarned future policies that may create longer lasting restrictions to asylum.
“This administration cannot claim to care for asylum seekers when in the same action it establishes policies to prevent them from reaching the United States in the first place,” USCRI President and CEO Eskinder Negash said. “Protections for some cannot come at the expense of protections for the majority of asylum seekers.”
IMMIGRATION HUB RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S NEW PLANS TO MANAGE MIGRATION AND THE BORDER
Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub, issued the following statement:
“....We are greatly disappointed by the announcement that the administration is moving forward with a ‘transit ban’ that would dramatically limit the legal rights of asylum seekers to seek protection at the southern border. Similarly, we are opposed to any expansion of the use of Title 42, a public health authority that has been misused for border enforcement from its inception…”
“Denying safe haven for those seeking asylum is cruel and runs counter to international conventions on the treatment of asylum seekers. PHR has documented countless instances of debilitating physical and psychological health impacts from this politically motivated policy on asylum-seeking children and adults, including high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. PHR clinicians have also witnessed the dangerous health conditions among asylum seekers expelled to Mexico, including pregnancy at high risk for eclampsia with signs of premature labor, congestive heart failure and seizure disorders.”
“PHR continues its calls on the Biden administration to press for an end to Title 42 through the courts, and in practice along the U.S. border, and to revise any new border policies to allow for safe and orderly processing of asylum seekers within the protection of the United States. It is equally imperative for Congress to pass comprehensive reforms aimed at repairing the deeply broken immigration and asylum system in the United States to bring U.S. policy in line with international standards.”
Please attribute the following statements to Angelica Salas, CHIRLA executive director:
"Seeking asylum to safeguard your life and well-being is a basic human right protected under our laws and by our international obligations.
“Expanding the parole program to Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians is a good thing. However, it has been documented that those who lack financial resources, were already en route, or lack familial networks in the U.S. are denied their right to seek asylum.
“One thing the President is right about is that these measures alone will not solve the situation at our border. In fact, they will expose more people to danger as they wait for a chance to seek refuge here. As such, they should not be implemented at all. Instead, the administration must work with Congress on an immigration reform package that restores and strengthens our asylum system, provides a path to legalization for millions already here, and work with our allies to provide resources and opportunities to people in their home countries.”
It was reported that President Biden “did not appear to see or meet with migrants,” despite “a trip to a migrant respite center,” and appeared to be “largely focused on enforcement issues and speaking with border enforcement personnel.” The brief visit came just days after the president announced a new set of border policies that will expand asylum-blocking Title 42; provide parole for a limited number of Haitians, Cubans, and Nicaraguans; while also expanding expedited removals. The announcement also included an asylum ban rule that would greatly impede the ability of migrants to seek asylum.
Religious leaders at the border and across the nation have spoken out against the president’s border policies. J. Kevin Appleby, acting executive director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York and former director of policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote for America Magazine, “The current U.S. border policy denying asylum protection to the persecuted certainly violates basic human rights, not to mention domestic and international law.” He added, “Pope Francis and the late Pope Benedict XVI would agree[:] it is contrary to Catholic teaching… which emphasizes the right of a person to migrate.” Appleby concluded, “Immigration measures should focus on human beings, not on scoring political points.”
Dylan Corbett, Executive Director of Hope Border Institute in El Paso and member of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition urged the president in a press call last week to center his efforts at the border around human needs—not harmful enforcement: “For once, just once, I’d like to see this administration make the moral argument to the rest of the country that we need to put in place an effective, humane, accessible, welcoming, and compassionate system of protection at the border.”
The current U.S. border policy denying asylum protection to the persecuted certainly violates basic human rights, not to mention domestic and international law. It is not worthy of a nation built upon the due process of law and respect for human rights and dignity.
And as Pope Francis and the late Pope Benedict XVI would agree, it is contrary to Catholic teaching.
To be clear, under Catholic teaching, a sovereign nation has a right to regulate its borders. However, it must be done in a manner that upholds basic human dignity and human rights. Denying asylum seekers any chance to adjudicate their asylum claims and returning them to danger undermines, if not violates, this basic principle. [...]
Hopefully, both Democrats and Republicans will heed their call and work together to fully restore the right to asylum in our country. From a Catholic teaching perspective, immigration measures should focus on human beings, not on scoring political points.
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.