The Biden administration on Sept. 30 added new limitations on asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border, a policy shift swiftly condemned by Catholic organizations who advocate for immigrants and refugees.
“The latest restrictions on asylum processing at the border by the Biden-Harris administration demonstrate an alarming absence of moral compass,” Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, said in a statement.
The order, announced through a proclamation by President Joe Biden, hardens restrictions that took effect in June. According to the previous constraints, new asylum claims would be suspended once border crossings at official points of entry exceed 2,500 per day. When those border crossings dropped to less than 1,500 per day over the course of a week, the ban would be lifted.
With the stricter measures announced this week, the daily number of migrant crossings will need to fall below 1,500 for about a month before the suspension of new asylum claims is lifted. The administration also plans to begin including unaccompanied minors in the daily count.
“Factoring in the arrival of children to deny asylum processing to other vulnerable people is troubling,” Mr. Corbett said. “We call on the Biden-Harris administration to urgently reverse course by fully restoring access to asylum at our border and to acknowledge the lives and dreams of those we call neighbors at our U.S.-Mexico border.”
It is unclear why the administration felt compelled to make the further restrictions. According to The Associated Press, the restrictions that began in June had yet to be lifted due to the high number of border encounters. The Department of Homeland Security said the seven-day average of encounters has reached as low as 1,800 a day but has not fallen below the 1,500 a day threshold that might allow the asylum suspension to be lifted.
The administration’s new policy was also strongly criticized by Kelly Ryan, president of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA.
“This illegal action is the wrong answer to a complicated problem,” she said in a statement. “The U.S. should not slam its door to people who need asylum with a take-a-number process. The U.S. has the means, the resources, and the ingenuity to run an effective asylum system. This rule is an end-run around asylum, it endangers lives, and it crushes hope for those who genuinely need protection.”
The Biden administration’s new limits, Ms. Ryan said, “come at the expense of human dignity and respect for international law.” Asylum seekers wait for months “in perilous conditions due to the robotic approach of the CBP One gatekeeping system and increased obstacles stemming from the original Biden executive action.”
Border agents turned away a number of asylum seekers trying to demonstrate credible fear, she said, which under previous policy would have made them eligible for asylum.
“It’s an extremely disappointing turn for our nation, which has for so long been the world leader in offering safe haven to those enduring persecution, war or other potentially lethal violence,” Ms. Ryan said. “We once again urge the Biden administration to make meaningful, ethical reforms to our asylum system, and to partner with Mexico and Central American countries to strengthen their systems and expand opportunities for legal immigration.”
Individuals have both a right to seek asylum and to stay in their home countries when tenable, she said. Asylum is necessary, she explained, when countries fail to create livable conditions for their citizens.
Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, called the Biden administration’s restrictions a “troubling departure from our moral duty to uphold the right to seek asylum and protect those seeking refuge.”
“As Catholics, we are called to welcome the stranger and promote the dignity of every human being,” she said in a statement. “These policies run counter to Catholic social teaching, which emphasizes concern for the vulnerable, as it leaves individuals and families at greater risk.”
Ms. Gallagher urged the administration to reconsider.
“Restoring access to asylum is essential to honor our commitment to welcoming and protecting those fleeing persecution,” she said.
Matthew Reynolds, the U.N. refugee agency’s representative to the United States and the Caribbean, said it had “profound concern” about the changes and that blocking asylum access violates international refugee law.
“Every person seeking asylum must be granted access to safety and afforded the opportunity to have their claims individually and fairly assessed before deportation or removal,” he said in a statement. “Limiting or blocking such access is a violation of international refugee law and the humanitarian principles to which the United States has long been a leader.”
Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security, rejected the idea that the new rules amounted to an asylum ban. Exceptions are built into the rule for people who qualify, he said, and called attention to other programs like the online appointment app that facilitates the process for asylum seekers.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
