#WelcomeWithDignity Campaign: Coalition Concerned by Further Restrictions on the Right to Seek Asylum
“An indefinite ban on the fundamental right to seek asylum betrays our values as a country. We need solutions that allow people to exercise their right to seek asylum.”
Washington, DC – The #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign is alarmed by the Biden administration’s expansion of its June 2024 asylum rule, making it even more difficult for people in need of protection to apply for asylum in the United States, and subjecting people seeking asylum to further danger.
On June 4, 2024 President Biden issued a Proclamation and rule suspending access to asylum across the southern border, and allowing the government to quickly deport people without processing their asylum claims, with very few exceptions. Under this rule, people seeking safety can only access asylum by securing an appointment through the CBP One smartphone app, which is inaccessible, has extremely long wait times, and offers very few appointments. Originally, these restrictions could only be lifted when the number of encounters at the southern border dropped below an average of 1,500 people per day for a full week.
On September 30, 2024, the Biden-Harris administration issued an updated Proclamation including a series of changes to the rule. Under these changes, the asylum shutdown will only be lifted if the daily average stays below 1,500 for 28 days, rather than the originally proposed seven days. This number will now also include encounters of unaccompanied children, who were previously excluded from the calculation triggering the shutdown. These changes will likely keep the restrictions in place indefinitely.
These changes do not offer concrete solutions to the growing humanitarian needs at our borders. They only exacerbate the suffering that people seeking safety endure during their journeys and upon seeking asylum. Numerous humanitarian and legal service organizations – many of whom are #WelcomeWithDignity members – have documented the disastrous consequences that the asylum shutdown has already had for people seeking safety.
“Access to asylum can and must remain at the heart of an immigration system that promotes order and upholds our historic commitment to offering safety to those fleeing persecution,” said Zain Lakhani, Director of Migrant Rights and Justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “Arbitrarily closing the border to people fleeing persecution does not further the essential pursuit of a safe, humane, and orderly migration system. Neither does an asylum process that fails to provide meaningful opportunities for people to voice their fear. This rule does not reflect the Biden Administration’s commitment to promoting safe and orderly migration or upholding our nation’s most fundamental values.”
Read the full statement on the #WelcomeWithDignity website.