Asian Americans Advancing Justice Encourages Expanded Migration and Resettlement Pathways, But Cautions Against Restricting Asylum
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Washington, D.C. – On April 27, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State announced a series of regional and border actions in the lead up to Title 42 lifting on May 11. While these plans increase migration pathways and establish new regional processing centers, they also confirm the Biden Administration’s intent to institute an asylum ban, expand the use of expedited removal, ramp up holding capacity and deportations, and implement other measures that block families from reuniting and finding safety.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, issues the following statement:
“We praise the Biden Administration’s efforts to expand refugee resettlement and family reunification programs, but we are deeply disheartened to see these initiatives coupled with restrictions on the human and legal right to seek safety.
“Policies that block people from asylum and push them into detention and deportation fail the very communities the Administration seeks to protect and eclipse its good-faith efforts to welcome people who are in search of a safe haven and family unity.
“Moving forward with the proposed asylum ban and enforcement policies will not only put those fleeing violence and persecution in grave danger but would also be an affront to the best of American values. Millions of refugees who resettled to the U.S. over the past century, many of whom are Asian American, would simply not be here today had there been such an attack on their freedoms.
“We urge the Biden Administration to reverse course on punitive approaches to migration and instead double down on efforts to build a fair and humane immigration system that embraces welcome and dignity. Access to asylum must be meaningfully afforded to all in need of it, and pathways to resettle and reunite with family in the U.S. should be extended to people in Asia, Africa, and other corners of the world who remain in indefinite limbo.”
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