FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2023
PRESS CONTACT
Spencer Tilger | media@refugeerights.org
“SHAMEFUL ASSAULT ON REFUGEES”: IRAP CONDEMNS PROPOSED ASYLUM BAN, BIDEN’S EMBRACE OF TRUMP-ERA IMMIGRATION POLICIES
(New York, NY) – Today, the Biden administration proposed banning people from seeking asylum in the United States unless they first sought protection in other countries they traveled through during their journey to safety. This amounts to a near-blanket ban on asylum at the border for people who had no choice but to flee their home and travel through countries without effective protection systems. A previous version of the ban proposed by the Trump administration was quickly struck down by a federal court.
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) strongly opposes all policies aimed at restricting the ability of migrants to access their legal right to seek safety in the United States.
IRAP U.S. Legal Services Director, Laurie Ball Cooper, responded:
“It is simply unconscionable that President Biden would revive a Trump-era rule that would ban most asylum seekers from being able to apply for protection in the United States. Instead of reversing the previous administration’s cruel attacks on the immigration system, the Biden administration is now leading its own shameful assault on refugees seeking safety. This asylum ban was illegal when the Trump administration proposed it and it is illegal now. President Biden should restore full access to the asylum system immediately.“
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