Mariko Hirose, IRAP Litigation Director, addresses journalists at an outdoor press conference. She is surrounded by several journalists with cameras, microphones and notepads. She has straight, shoulder length black hair and wears a white blouse and black blazer.

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May 10, 2024

“Dangerous Precedent”: IRAP Reacts to New Asylum Restrictions Proposed by Biden Administration

IRAP opposes this administration’s continued attempts to deny vulnerable people seeking protection their lawful chance to present their asylum claims. Asylum screening interviews have no right to counsel and limited ability to present evidence. In contrast, evaluating mandatory bars requires detailed evidence and complex analysis. We have seen too often how discretion and expediency in the name of security have served as a pretext for discrimination and xenophobia. The impact of this proposed rule would be to send refugees back to persecution and danger, rather than reforming and modernizing the sorely outdated U.S. immigration system. This sets a dangerous precedent.

Press Release

Feb 5, 2024

IRAP Urges Congress to Reject Anti-Asylum Spending Bill

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) calls on Congress to reject the deal, protect the right to seek asylum, and come together for bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that modernizes the U.S. immigration system, creates new and expanded legal pathways, and upholds this country’s international legal obligations and desire for global moral leadership. The current bill does none of this. 

Press Release

May 11, 2023

IRAP Welcomes End of Title 42, Opposes New Restrictions

Tonight at midnight, the use of the arcane public health law known as Title 42 to expel asylum seekers before they get the chance to present their claims in the United States will finally end. IRAP has long opposed the policy, which denied hundreds of thousands of people their right to seek asylum and forced them back into dangerous conditions in northern Mexico. 

Press Release

May 10, 2023

IRAP Denounces Biden Asylum Ban

Today, the Biden administration finalized a rule that will devastate access to the asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the expected lifting of Title 42 restrictions on May 11, 2023. The rule will render the majority of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border ineligible for protection by forcing them to first apply in Mexico or other transit countries.

Press Release

Apr 27, 2023

IRAP: Expanded Humanitarian Pathways Must Not Replace Asylum

Today, the Biden administration announced a set of new measures to address regional migration within the Western Hemisphere, including opening centers in Guatemala and Colombia to process thousands of people through various humanitarian pathways. IRAP welcomes the expansion of family reunification parole programs and refugee processing in the Americas, but strongly opposes doing so as a trade off for limiting the legal rights of people seeking asylum in the United States.

Press Release

Feb 21, 2023

“Shameful Assault on Refugees”: IRAP Condemns Proposed Asylum Ban, Biden’s Embrace of Trump-Era Immigration Policies

Today, the Biden administration proposed banning people from seeking asylum in the United States unless they first sought protection in any other countries they traveled through during their journey to safety.

Press Release

Jan 5, 2023

IRAP Strongly Denounces Biden Administration Moves to Further Restrict Asylum

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) strongly and unequivocally opposes the actions of the Biden administration to restrict the ability of people seeking safety and freedom in the United States under the guise of public health.

Press Release

Oct 13, 2022

IRAP Responds to Expansion of Title 42 Expulsions and Creation of Venezuelan Parole Program

Yesterday, the Biden administration announced it will expand Title 42 expulsions to include Venezuelans and create a temporary parole program that will allow up to 24,000 Venezuelans to enter and work in the United States, among other requirements that would render large numbers of Venezuelans ineligible. 

Press Release

Jun 30, 2022

IRAP Responds to Supreme Court Decision Ruling Biden Administration Can End Remain in Mexico Policy

Today, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as “Remain in Mexico,” a policy which requires asylum seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexico while their asylum claims are adjudicated. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration’s decision to rescind the Trump-era program does not violate the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Press Release

May 23, 2022

IRAP Reacts to Latest on Title 42 on Day the De Facto Asylum Ban Was to Be Lifted

Today, May 23, the U.S. government intended to lift Title 42, a policy that has been blocking access to asylum at the border.

Press Release

May 17, 2022

Tell Your Senator: End Title 42 and Restore Asylum Access

Title 42 was weaponized by the Trump administration – under the pretense of public health – to deny asylum seekers their enshrined legal right to request asylum. But the reality is that Title 42 doesn’t protect anyone’s health, and instead puts already at-risk people in dangerous, often life-threatening, situations. Speak out in support of asylum protections today!

Action Alert

Apr 26, 2022

“The U.S. Can Do So Much More”: IRAP Compares Ukrainian and Afghan Protection Efforts

IRAP commends the Biden administration on its responsiveness to the immense need of displaced Ukrainians. The swiftness with which the administration created the program and its commitment to processing applicants efficiently show that the U.S. can respond effectively and creatively to emerging displacement crises if it chooses to. In contrast, the treatment of Afghans seeking safety does not mirror these same commitments.

Press Release