February 29, 2024
Los Angeles (Feb. 29, 2024) – As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visit the U.S.-Mexico border for political photo-ops today, the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) condemned executive actions that Biden is reportedly considering. One of the policies is an asylum ban similar to the one that Trump used but was later blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It is deeply disappointing to learn that President Biden is considering adopting the same extremist and xenophobic policies that the Trump administration implemented during his term in office,” CIPC Executive Director Masih Fouladi. “CIPC rejects this misguided and unjust approach to immigration policy. People’s ability to seek refuge from violence and danger is a human right enshrined in federal and international law for the past 40 years.
“Denying peoples’ right to access our asylum system is not a solution to the humanitarian emergency happening at the border. This policy from the Trump playbook is not only cruel, it would only put vulnerable individuals and families in danger.
“According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans support a more humane approach to immigration policy, including creating more opportunities for people to legally immigrate to the U.S. (56%) and increasing the number of immigration judges to make decisions on asylum more quickly (60%).
“Instead of scapegoating immigrants for the sake of political expediency, the president and Congress should focus on providing more resources so that people seeking asylum can be processed humanely and supporting state and local governments and community-based organizations that have been welcoming people seeking asylum with dignity and offering shelter, case management support, legal services and language interpretation.
“The president and Congress should ensure the United States remains a beacon of hope for vulnerable people seeking refuge by working together on bold solutions to provide permanent protections to millions of immigrants, establishing more pathways for migration, without restricting asylum, and ensuring due process for children, individuals and families at the border.
“We demand that President Biden abandon these reported executive actions because not only are they bad immigration policy, they would harm vulnerable people and violate our values of justice and compassion.”