Advocates End Work with US to Pick Asylum-Seekers in Mexico
Two organizations tapped by the Biden administration to recommend which migrants should be allowed into the United States to seek humanitarian protection said Friday that they are halting their work with the government and demanding an end to the Trump-era ban on asylum imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
The withdrawal of the International Rescue Committee and HIAS from a consortium of groups assisting the Biden administration is a blow to the government’s effort to join advocates in helping those deemed particularly vulnerable as they wait in Mexican border cities, including women with children and LGBTQ people.
Meanwhile, HIAS has led efforts in El Paso, Texas, since early May, and it recently expanded to San Diego, according to Ursela Ojeda, policy adviser for the Women’s Refugee Commission, which has been monitoring developments.
“This is a process that never should have had to happen in the first place,” Ojeda said. “There are certainly many folks stuck in Mexico, migrants and asylum-seekers without any ability to seek protection.”
In addition to the Associated Press, this article appeared in 329 news outlets, including The News & Observer, The Boston Globe, and CBS Austin.