Biden asylum plan mirrors Trump’s cruelty
Ever since former President Donald Trump cracked down on migrants at the U.S. southern border, even those lawfully seeking asylum, critics hoped for a reversal of his cruel, xenophobic approach.
Religious leaders, humanitarians, Democratic voters and many others voted for President Joe Biden to bring such policies to an end.
They’ve continued to see most asylum seekers for what they are — desperate people legally seeking safe haven who want a fair chance at applying for asylum.
These migrants want to go before an immigration authority and present enough evidence to prove their fears are credible and they cannot return to their homelands.
So many of them have gotten themselves to a border port of entry, risking their safety by going through one or multiple countries before presenting themselves to U.S. border agents and surrendering themselves.
Trump used an archaic public-health rule to keep such asylum seekers and other migrants at bay.
They were told to remain in Mexico while border agents processed their asylum claims. Sometimes that line wouldn’t budge, and asylum seekers were left to face inhumane conditions. They were victims re-victimized.
Biden promised voters he’d do better on immigration. He has failed.
He vowed to uphold U.S. and international laws and create a more orderly and fair approach to those who arrive at U.S. border crossings, especially unaccompanied minors and those seeking legal avenues to remain here.
With the exception of those minors and specific numbers of other asylum seekers, Biden’s new regulations — issued this week and going into effect in May — will betray promises he’s made and his own political history.
This is political. He’s running for re-election and facing some Democratic and independent voters who’ve moved to the right on immigration issues.
Central to understanding the new Biden rules is recognizing
that seeking asylum is legal in the United States and throughout the developed world.
It’s not an easy process and, in many cases, can be expensive, arduous and lengthy.
Under U.S. law, an asylum seeker can apply and still be deported if his or her case is found not to be credible. It happens all the time.
The rules, formally issued Tuesday, will penalize asylum seekers who cross the border “illegally,” that is, by appearing at the border without using a mobile app and preregistering for an asylum appointment.
If they travel through other countries, they must apply for asylum there first.
All this assumes the mobile app works and that enough appointments are made available.
This process defies the realities that asylum applicants face at home.
It assumes they can get access to the app. It assumes they can get an appointment.
It assumes that asylum seekers can wait to make those connections when some of them must get out of their countries quickly.
I’ve interviewed people who’ve had to leave in a hurry, with few possessions and without much of a travel plan.
They risk their own lives and that of their relatives to get here, and the countries they travel through may not offer safe haven or legal asylum.
When they arrive at a U.S. border crossing, Biden’s new rules threaten fast-track deportation.
Critics have called Biden’s regulations Trump 2.0, a dupe of Title 42, a public-health rule that Trump used to expel asylum seekers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Washington Post called it Biden’s “most restrictive border control measure to date.”
The Biden administration’s rules largely bar migrants who’ve traveled through other countries.
Democratic leaders, humanitarian groups and advocates for asylum are disappointed in Biden, especially after his hopeful State of the Union address and inspiring visit to Ukraine.
On immigration, Biden is in campaign mode, not presidential mode.
It’s too early to tell, but he may be risking devoted voters who won’t easily forget this betrayal.