FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Biden administration just finalized a rule that drastically restricts access to the U.S. asylum system. Below is a statement from Esther Sung, Legal Director at Justice Action Center:
“Freedom includes the right to seek safety, to start anew and build a better life. The Biden administration is turning its back on this right, eliminating the bedrock principle of U.S. immigration law that anyone who reaches U.S. soil has the right to seek asylum. Rather than making a sustained investment into building a better system, this administration is instead investing in deterrence-based policies that decrease access and increase precarity for people in need. We should be bringing asylum law into the 21st century, not regressing to what past administrations have defaulted to.
“Under U.S. immigration law, we have legal obligations to offer those unable to return to their country of origin or who are at risk of persecution a chance at safety, ensuring the freedom of those fleeing poor conditions. We must protect that freedom just as we fight to protect all our other freedoms. Instead of turning their backs on those who are seeking to start anew and seek safety in the U.S, this administration must turn a new leaf and invest in safer systems.”