FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@freedomforimmigrants.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put into place this week its final rule of the asylum ban initially rolled out in June, toughening the asylum restrictions and making them harder to be lifted.
The following statement is from Laura Hernández, executive director of Freedom for Immigrants:
“By doubling down on his callous asylum ban, Joe Biden has cemented his legacy as a stubborn immigration restrictionist. Biden didn’t just take the baton passed on from Trump — he took an ax, with which he continued to chip away at an asylum system already hanging on by a thread. As a result of this rule, families, children and individuals seeking safety will be put in grave danger. History will not look kindly on the foolish and short-sighted ‘prevention through deterrence’ approach, which leads to human rights abuses, avoidable deaths in the borderlands, and bottlenecks along the Southern border that cause the opposite effect of this policy’s stated intention.
“At a time when outright fascistic and xenophobic rhetoric is spreading like wildfire, the Biden-Harris administration is throwing migrants under the bus to score political points in an election season. The administration is pouring gasoline on the fire by reinforcing the very ideas core to the nativist message, that our people are somehow ‘threats’ that must be blocked from entering the country. In reality, our society would crumble without the profound economical and cultural contributions our people provide. We are the backbone of this country.
“We also remain concerned with Biden’s continued reliance on and expansion of incarceration as immigration policy. President Biden has overseen a 140 percent increase in the number of people detained by ICE since taking office, fueled by record amounts of billions of taxpayer dollars to sustain this abusive system.
“Make no mistake: This asylum ban is in principle no different than Trump’s physical border wall. Immigration detention is no more humane under Biden than under any previous president. Along the border and inside secretive detention centers across the country, horrific human rights abuses continue unabated. This is Biden’s true legacy.”
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Freedom for Immigrants is an abolitionist organization working to end immigration incarceration by organizing with and following the leadership of currently and formerly incarcerated immigrants. We’re building a future in which all people can move freely and thrive. Learn more at www.freedomforimmigrants.org/.