ACLU Condemns Biden Administration’s Decision to Move Forward with Trump-era Asylum Ban

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration today proposed a rule with a 30-day comment period that will unlawfully deny asylum to people at the southern border. The proposed rule will force people to seek asylum and wait for an answer in Mexico or another country they passed through, unless they are granted a date and time to apply through CBP One. The administration has not said how many appointments will be available through the mobile application, which has proven inaccessible for many people and has been fraught with technical problems, privacy concerns, and racial biases. The rule mimics illegal Trump asylum bans that were halted by the courts after ACLU lawsuits.

Anu Joshi, deputy director of the National Political Advocacy Department at the American Civil Liberties Union, had the following reaction:

“Congress designed our asylum laws to ensure that everyone escaping persecution has a chance to seek safety in the U.S., regardless of how they must flee danger or enter the country. This asylum ban is, at its core, Trump’s asylum ban under a different name. It will leave the most vulnerable people in much the same position as Trump’s policy did — at risk and unfairly denied the protection of asylum for reasons that have nothing to do with their need for refuge. We can’t overstate the human suffering that will result.”

Omar Jadwat, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project at the ACLU, had the following reaction:

“Whether it’s President Trump or President Biden, these asylum bans are illegal. The proposed rule should not move forward.”