Regardless of background, we all deserve to move freely, seek protection for ourselves and our loved ones, and be welcomed into new communities. However, yesterday, in the rankest of political maneuverings, Secretary Mayorkas put out a statement codifying the Biden Administration’s latest attempt to eviscerate asylum, building on an already extremist and unlawful rule from June 2024. This new rule will effectively block all asylum seekers at the southern border, cause harm and death to people seeking safety, and obliterate the internally recognized right to asylum.
The unlawful rule announced by the Biden Administration in June severely restricted asylum at the southern border. It required that when the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters with people between ports of entry hit an average of 2,500 over seven days, the border shut down to all seeking asylum (with very few exceptions, including for those able to get an appointment on a buggy, dangerous, and unworkable phone app). The rule’s closure would only be lifted when the average dropped to below 1,500 over seven days.
Doubling down on their efforts, last week, the Biden Administration announced a new version of this same rule. This latest version makes two additional significant changes with a similar dangerous impact. First, the 1,500 average needed to reopen the border is over 28 days. Second, for the first time, the numbers triggering closure and reopening include unaccompanied children arriving at the border.
“These changes are designed for only one thing: to ensure that the border remains closed,” said Michael Lukens, the Executive Director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. “For years now, this administration has worked to trade human lives and American values for political points. As officials tout this rule for its ‘humanitarian relief,’ it raises the question of whether they even know what these words mean or are just happy to be indignantly wrong about the outcome of their actions. We call on the Department of Homeland Security and the Biden Administration to rescind this mockery of a policy immediately.”
As with each previous asylum ban, we are committed to challenging this rule in collaboration with fellow advocates. No matter how many attacks are issued against immigrant communities, we will continue to defend the rights of all people to move freely and to seek protection safely.