(Washington)—News reports that the Biden Administration is signaling its willingness to cave to Republican demands by allowing asylum restrictions and expanding expedited removal to get more foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel is unconscionable, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) said Friday.
“Using immigrants as political pawns is abhorrent. The ILRC has repeatedly said these proposals—all Trump policies--would result in changes to asylum law and policy that are unprecedented and would lead to catastrophic conditions for families seeking safety and refuge from danger, violence and persecution,” said ILRC Policy Director Sameera Hafiz. “Fast tracking deportations is cruel, inhumane and against due process. President Biden and Democrats must reject any measure that includes detrimental changes to asylum policy in the supplemental funding bill. And they must stop letting Republicans dictate immigration policy.”
Hafiz said the changes being considered would create barriers to apply for asylum that would be almost impossible to overcome in addition to severely undermining humanitarian parole and other existing migration pathways for vulnerable people.
“The ILRC is calling on Congress to pass measures that would streamline the asylum process, and to provide more resources for community-based services to ensure immigrants are treated humanely and with compassion,” Hafiz said. “Seeking asylum is a human right that is protected under U.S. and international law. The fact that President Biden and some Democrats are willing to turn their backs on long-standing asylum law and ignore the needs of asylum seekers is shameful and unacceptable.”
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The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC works to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities.