New York, NY, July 25, 2023 — The International Rescue Committee (IRC) welcomes today’s decision by a federal court to block the Asylum Ban regulation introduced by the Biden Administration. The court’s decision found that the policy was “arbitrary and capricious” and contrary to federal asylum law. The decision mirrors a court decision in 2019 against a similar policy introduced by the Trump Administration.
Seeking asylum is a right protected under U.S. and international law. Despite this, the Asylum Ban denies asylum seekers a fair chance to present their requests for protection. Instead, the regulation renders most asylum-seekers ineligible for asylum, unless they use the glitchy CBP One smartphone app to schedule one of the limited number of appointments, or have sought and been denied asylum in a country of transit, with very few exceptions. A recent monitoring report by the IRC and partner organizations found that individuals and families desperate to seek safety in the U.S. continued to line up at ports of entry, unaware the Asylum Ban would bar them from protection. In addition, the report found accessibility issues to seeking asylum by appointment through the CBP One app and limited processing or metering of asylum seekers without appointments at ports.
Policies like the Asylum Ban that deny protection and push some vulnerable people to take more dangerous routes out of desperation cannot ever be considered a success. Protection and humanitarian needs continue to drive people to seek safe refuge. Violence, persecution, and natural disasters persist around the world, including ongoing violence by armed actors in Haiti and across Latin America, as well as recent flooding in Peru. Haitians and other nationalities continue to face dangerous conditions and a lack of resources at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Instead of cruel and disorderly policies like the Asylum Ban, the Biden Administration must pursue a path of humanity and fairness to create a safe and orderly immigration system. IRC’s global experience suggests common-sense reforms to improve the system, including scaling up humanitarian reception at the border, providing alternatives to detention, timely and fair processing, scaling up information services, and effective foreign aid and diplomacy abroad.
Kennji Kizuka, Asylum Policy Director, said:
“Seeking asylum is a human right, protected under both federal and international law. We have long maintained that this policy is inconsistent with U.S. law, and we welcome today’s court decision that reaffirms this position.
Unfortunately, the Asylum Ban is part of a larger global trend toward inhumanity, including the recent UK “Illegal Migration Act” and EU’s migration agreement with Tunisia. Restrictive European policies have also failed to bring about a safe or orderly process with hundreds of asylum seekers losing their lives just last month. The U.S. can and should set a global example for a humane and orderly asylum system.
The Biden Administration should cease their appeal of today’s decision. Instead, the Administration must use this moment to build a safe, humane, and orderly process at the border, consistent with U.S. law and values.