Washington, D.C. – With Title 42 set to end tomorrow, the Biden administration has published a new rule that denies people their right to seek asylum if they fail to request refugee status in another country. Biden’s new rule undermines the lived realities of people seeking asylum including people who are fleeing for their safety, many of them LGBTQ people who are not safe elsewhere.
This policy, similar to a transit ban –drafted by white supremacist Stephen Miller – and proposed by the Trump administration, will be a stain on Biden’s legacy.
Bruna Bouhid-Sollod, Senior Communications and Political Director of United We Dream Action, said:
“Upholding our asylum laws ensures people their human right to move when in search of a better life. With this new rule, President Biden is effectively driving a knife through the promises and values he made on the campaign. Under the Trump administration policies like ‘Remain In Mexico,’ metering, and Title 42 made it nearly impossible for people to exercise their right to seek asylum. Instead of undoing these harmful and cruel policies of fear, hate, and division, President Biden has embraced them, and doubled down.
We can and we must do better as a country. In actuality, we have done better. When responding to Ukrainians coming to the US-Mexico border after the Russian invasion, the U.S government did simply paroled them into the country, no matter their entry point. This allowed for safe entry of Ukrainians at the border. Yet, time and again President Biden has refused to extend that same right to asylum to people coming from countries in the Caribbean and Central America without harsh punishment for those who don’t meet prohibitive requirements. President Biden and DHS must respect people’s right to due process, rescind the asylum ban rule and other harmful provisions, and increase processing capacity at ports of entry so migrants can make their claim through a safe and humane process.”