A coalition of immigrants’ rights groups has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, challenging the president’s recent executive actions that impose severe restrictions on asylum for migrants who cross the border illegally.
President Biden signed the controversial orders on June 4, making most illegal border crossers ineligible for asylum and accelerating deportations for those who do not meet stringent new legal standards for credible fear of persecution.
“We were left with no alternative but to sue,” stated Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrant Rights’ Project. “The administration lacks unilateral authority to override Congress and bar asylum based on how one enters the country.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., contends that Biden’s asylum ban contradicts existing law, specifically Section 208 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. This law allows anyone in the United States to apply for asylum, regardless of their entry method.
Biden’s executive actions are “flatly contrary to the law,” asserted Melissa Crow, director of litigation at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. She emphasized that existing asylum laws acknowledge the perilous situations faced by legitimate asylum seekers, which justify humanitarian protection for those crossing the border without proper documentation.
“People seeking asylum don’t generally come here because they want to,” Crow explained. “They come here because they have to. Because they’re scared, because they’ve been harmed in the past, because their lives and the lives of their family members are in great jeopardy.”
Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the National Immigration Justice Center and the Texas Civil Rights Project. They are urging the federal court to swiftly overturn Biden’s new asylum rules.
Advocates for immigrants argue that restricting access to asylum will exacerbate the dangers faced by vulnerable migrants, who may be at increased risk of violence either in their home countries or in Mexican border towns with significant cartel activity.
Biden defended his actions, stating they were necessary after Republicans blocked a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year. “This action will help us gain control of our border, restore order to the process,” he said.
Republicans, however, criticized Biden’s new rules for not going far enough and condemned him for reversing Trump-era immigration restrictions.
The new rules are intended to encourage migrants to use existing legal pathways for asylum, specifically through the CBP One mobile app, which schedules appointments for entering the United States. Critics, however, point out that the app schedules only 1,450 appointments daily, and high demand means some migrants wait up to eight or nine months for an appointment.
“By limiting the number of people who can claim asylum, people are forced to compete for the few appointments available each day in the CBP One app, which is riddled with glitches and is itself a barrier to seeking asylum,” stated Tami Goodlette, director of the Beyond Borders Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project.
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