For Immediate Release
June 4, 2024
Contact: Danyeli Rodriguez Del Orbe, Danyeli@undocublack.org
Today, President Biden signed a Presidential Proclamation that follows a recent pattern of attacks on the right to asylum. Although asylum seekers often endure months of unsafe travel to reach the U.S.-Mexico border and wait weeks in deplorable conditions for the opportunity to apply for asylum, the Biden Administration has instructed authorities to deport asylum seekers back to their home countries or Mexico within hours/days if they are seeking asylum between ports of entry. This policy goes into effect when the daily average of encounters at the border surpasses 2,500. The border would reopen fourteen days after that number falls to an average of less than 1,500 encounters over seven days.
The UndocuBlack Network is deeply concerned and outraged at the Biden Administration's choice to prioritize political gain over the lives of vulnerable populations seeking refuge in the U.S. The policy dehumanizes immigrants by reducing them to mere numbers and disregarding their fundamental human rights to safety and livelihood. Like previous policies enacted by the Administration, this latest attack on asylum will disproportionately impact Black immigrants who remain unsafe in Mexico while awaiting a chance to apply for asylum. Because the arbitrary threshold of 2,500 has already been met, the shutdown of the border is in effect immediately.
Haddy Gassama, Policy and Advocacy Director at UndocuBlack Network said, “The harmful immigration policies of the Biden Administration and the Trump Administration have become indistinguishable. Both Administrations have politicized the border and used harmful rhetoric to place the lives of asylum seekers at risk while denying them their international human right to seek safety in the United States. In picking up where his predecessor left off, and signing a Presidential Proclamation, which echoes the legal and humanitarian pitfalls of Title 42 and the Migrant Protection Protocol, Biden seals a legacy of anti-immigrant and anti-Black policies. This measure will inevitably continue to ensure the shut down of the border and lead to faster deportations.”
“This rule willfully overlooks the dangerous conditions many asylum seekers are fleeing from, particularly Black migrants from countries like Haiti and various African nations,” Gassama continued.
“These individuals often face severe violence and persecution in their home countries and en route to the U.S., Being sent back to Mexico or their home countries serves as a condemnation to imminent harm or even death. This measure is not only immoral; it is illegal. By setting a threshold for asylum access based on the number of daily apprehensions, the administration continues to violate international and domestic laws that protect the rights of those fleeing harm to seek asylum in the U.S. Like all of Biden's other attempts at subverting asylum laws, Black immigrants will face unique and disproportionate harms– who mostly likely have already endured long, perilous journeys to reach the U.S. border, only to find that their access to asylum is restricted based on an arbitrary daily count. The UndocuBlack Network Stands ready to fight this and any other anti-Black policies the Administration has in store.”'
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