Tue | Nov 19, 2024

Immigrant advocates denounce updated asylum restrictions

Published:Wednesday | October 2, 2024 | 12:07 AM
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President Joe Biden
AP
President Joe Biden
FILE - A vehicle drives along the US side of the US-Mexico border wall in Nogales, Ariz., June 25, 2024. The Biden administration is making asylum restrictions at the southern border even tougher. The changes come in the middle of an election campaign wher
AP
FILE - A vehicle drives along the US side of the US-Mexico border wall in Nogales, Ariz., June 25, 2024. The Biden administration is making asylum restrictions at the southern border even tougher. The changes come in the middle of an election campaign where border security is a key concern for voters, and the administration is increasingly eager to show voters it’s taking a hard stance.
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NEW YORK (CMC):

Caribbean immigrant advocates on Tuesday denounced United States President Joe Biden’s update of his executive action limiting access to asylum for Caribbean and other migrants at the US southern border.

Many of the migrants and asylum seekers crossing the US southern borders and arriving in major US cities are nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

“President Biden’s updated executive action represents a dangerous move away from the United States’ legal and moral obligations to protect vulnerable people fleeing persecution and seeking safety,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC).

“By extending the asylum restrictions, this administration is guaranteeing that even more individuals at risk – including unaccompanied minors – will be denied the chance to seek refuge in our country. This policy is a betrayal of the humanitarian values that are crucial to the very concept of America,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

Awawdeh said instead of embracing America’s role as a beacon of hope, the US is choosing to close its doors to people in need of rebuilding their lives.

He said President Biden and Congress must create safe and legal immigration pathways, and prioritise humane, fair and efficient access to asylum for everyone.

“This involves developing policies that address the urgent needs of our newest arrivals and long-established immigrants while also offering compassionate and balanced long-term solutions for southern border management,” he added.

Under the updated regulation, the Biden administration now requires that the number of border crossings between ports of entry remain below 1,500 for 28 consecutive days, as opposed to the previous version of the policy which was for one week, in order for the asylum restrictions to be lifted.

Additionally, the daily threshold now includes unaccompanied minors from non-contiguous countries. This policy went into effect immediately at midnight on Monday.

In June this year, President Biden signed an executive action limiting access to asylum at the US southern border once the seven-day average of people crossing between ports of entry exceeds 1,500.

The measure resulted in a temporary closure of the US southern border to many people seeking safety, absent exceptional circumstances.

In his Executive Order on Monday, Biden said the admission of up to 125,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year 2025 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.

He said the admissions numbers shall be allocated among refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States.

As a result, the regional allocations are Africa, 30,000-50,000; East Asia, 10,000-20,000; Europe and Central Asia, 2,000-3,000; Latin America/Caribbean, 35,000-50,000; and Near East/South Asia, 30,000-45,000.