Yves here. Having had such loose enforcement, I’m not sure how the US put the genie in the bottle. Yes, there are legal and ethical reasons for allowing asylum seekers to enter. But the evidence is strong that most of the immigrants who want to cross the Mexican border are economic migrants and not victims of persecution. And it’s painfully difficult, save for prominent people (or victims of racial profiling) to find out whether many asylum claims are genuine.
Here’s who the US says is eligible for asylum:
To be eligible for asylum, you must be:
Within the United States
You can show that you were persecuted or fear persecution in your country because of:
- The race
- Religion
- Ethnicity
- Community group
- Political opinion
So it’s troubling to see well-intentioned articles pretending that the US doesn’t have a serious problem with illegal economic immigration, both currently and historically. And this did not go down well with the workers who were harassed by their competition, as well as the applicants who went through the hells of the law to have the right to continue looking for jobs here.
By Jessica Corbett, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published on Common Dreams
Immigrant rights advocates were outraged Monday by reports that US President Joe Biden plans to hold an event at the White House on Tuesday to unveil a long-feared executive order that would bar people from seeking asylum when the number of people crossing the border illegally reaches a certain threshold. .
Biden’s order “will close asylum applications at the US-Mexico border if the number of daily encounters reaches 2,500 between ports of entry, the border will be reopened if that number drops to 1,500,” according to the report.The Associated Press-and various other media sources also cited unnamed officials who warned that the final figures are still changing.
The Democrat is expected to invoke Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was previously used by former President Donald Trump – the presumptive Republican nominee to face Biden in November – and sparked legal challenges.
“We’ll need to see the EO before making any decisions on the case,” Lee Gelernt, an attorney who serves as deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, said.Axios with Biden’s expected move. “Any policy that effectively ends asylum protections for people fleeing danger will create serious legal problems, as happened when Trump tried to end asylum.”
In response to the trailblazing social media account “Biden’s Wins,” which welcomed the reported order, Gelernt’s ACLU colleague Gillian Branstetter said: “This is not a ‘win’—it’s a bad situation. Asylum is a human right.”
2020: Protect the shelter! No children in cages!
2024: Protect the shelter? No! Children in cages!– Adam Johnson (@adamjohnsonCHI) June 3, 2024
After one social media user sarcastically told Branstetter, “I’m sure he’s going to love Trump’s border policies,” he insisted, “This is Trump’s border policy.”
American Immigration Council policy director Aaron Reichlin-Melnick also said that “politics may change with legislation; Trump tried to invoke section 212(f) to block asylum at the border and was slapped down in court. Biden’s attempt to do the same will soon face legal challenges. “
Reichlin-Melnick also highlighted a policy brief issued by the American Immigration Lawyers Association in response to the reports, which aimed at both the legality and effectiveness of the Biden administration’s plans.
“This administration’s decision to criminalize immigrants — many of whom are fleeing harm — is deeply troubling and misguided,” Sarah M. Rich, senior managing attorney and interim senior policy advisor at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in a statement. “We have seen how such persecution can be used to separate and traumatize immigrant families.”
“Prosecuting people seeking safety in the US for these immigration violations will result in more Black and Brown people being incarcerated at the expense of immigrant families and communities,” Rich continued. “We are asking the Biden administration to instead adopt a humane and inclusive immigration framework that upholds our values as a nation that welcomes immigrants..”
CNN reported that “unaccompanied children will not be exempted—a key part of the executive order that may worry immigration advocates who say such an exemption could encourage some families to send their children to the border themselves.”
Save the Children US declared that “seeking asylum is a basic human right. We have seen what happens when children and families are separated and their right to safety is restricted. We will not allow that again.”
Instead of limiting people’s right to seek asylum, the US government should have enough staff in the system to process asylum applications to reduce the current long wait.
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) June 3, 2024
Meanwhile, Congressman Henry Cuellar, a right-wing Texas Democrat who has criticized Biden for not increasing border spending and is currently fighting bribery charges, praised the president’s wait-and-see policy.
“I was informed of the order of the pending officer,” said Cuellar. “I really support it because I have been promoting these measures for years. Although this order is yet to be issued, I stand by the information that has been provided to me so far.”
At least five Texas mayors were invited to the White House for Tuesday’s event, according to CNN. The order’s plans come a few weeks before the first presidential debate of the 2024 cycle and follow a proposal last month by the US Department of Homeland Security to expedite the rejection of certain asylum applications, which was condemned as a “failed return.” The policies of the Trump era. “
The report also follows the victory in Sunday’s election of Mexico’s next president, leftist Claudia Sheinbaum – who on Monday received a congratulatory call from Biden. I AP they noted that “the number of illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border has decreased for months, in part due to the effort made by Mexico.”
Biden’s long-awaited action will come after the US Senate once again killed the bipartisan Border Act. While Republican leaders blocked the legislation at the behest of Trump, who wants to continue campaigning for the president on immigration policy, the move was also opposed by progressive lawmakers and advocates.
Among the few Democrats who spoke out against the Border Act was Sen. Alex Padilla from California. Praising her floor speech last month, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies said “this bill does not provide solutions for immigrants and refugees. There are no measures to address humanitarian and operational challenges at the border. Just brutality and chaos.”