Immigration Hub Denounces Asylum Transit Ban Regulation

Kerri Talbot: “Today marks a dangerous turn in America’s treatment of those who come to our nation to seek refugee protection.”

Washington, D.C. – Today the Biden Administration authorized restrictions on asylum that amount to a ban on the ability of potential refugees to seek protection in the United States. As the rule states, it would introduce “a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility for certain noncitizens who neither avail themselves of a lawful, safe, and orderly pathway to the United States nor seek asylum or other protection in a country through which they travel.” The rule, proposed just a month ago, has generated widespread condemnation and opposition from faith groups, labor unions, human rights organizations, refugee and immigration groups, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

The following is a statement by Kerri Talbot, Deputy Director of the Immigration Hub:

“America at its best welcomes refugees from persecution and violence. In the last 50 years, we have led by example and welcomed millions of refugees who have made our nation stronger. Today marks a dangerous turn in America’s treatment of those who come to our nation to seek refugee protection. The rule violates U.S. law as well as treaties to which the United States has obligated itself. It will deny would-be refugees the opportunity to exercise their legal right to apply for asylum on U.S. soil, and it is likely to accelerate a race to the bottom with respect to refugee protection throughout the world.

“We understand the Biden Administration is straining to bring order to the border, and that it is compelled to act with continued obstruction by Republicans in Congress. But there are ways to increase orderliness without sacrificing the human and legal rights of potential refugees. We need to reform and resource our asylum processing so that it is more fair and efficient. DHS should continue to increase the availability of processing facilities, adjudication, legal representation, case management and private-public partnerships. Gutting asylum, however, is the opposite of preserving a fundamental component of America’s commitment to protecting refugees.

“We recognize the need to make changes at our borders, beyond our borders, and within our nation. Beyond our borders, we applaud the Biden Administration’s expansion of lawful pathways, expanded refugee processing centers outside of the country, diplomatic efforts to promote responsibility-sharing among nations throughout the Americas, and dedication to addressing, over the long term, forced migration in sending countries. Within our nation, we applaud the Administration's funding of local responses in communities along our southern border and in the cities receiving newcomers. But at our southern border, we need to make changes that preserve rather than gut asylum.

“We expect and support litigation to enjoin this unlawful rule. We do so because asylum decisions can spell the difference between life and death, and even in difficult times, it is never the right time to undercut one of our nation’s greatest traditions.”

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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.