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Asylum is a legal, basic human right, founded on the right to dignity: Stop the transit asylum ban [1]

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Date: 2023-03-06

Restricting access to asylum, also known as metering, is prohibited by law for a significant reason. When asylum seekers are denied entry or made to wait in precarious Mexican border towns, they are at risk of experiencing severe harm at the hands of criminal groups, including abduction, blackmail, physical aggression, and sexual abuse.

Of the migrants interviewed at the border by Human Rights Watch, the majority reported being subjected to extortion by Mexican police, immigration officials, or criminal organizations. In 16 instances, asylum seekers claimed that Mexican immigration officials or police officers had forcibly removed them from buses or queues at the airport, demanding a bribe in exchange for not deporting them. Some said they were detained and threatened with death or being handed over to cartels if they did not pay.

The ban makes it even more difficult for people seeking refuge to gain entry to the U.S., by creating a presumption of ineligibility for asylum seekers at the southern border who have not sought protection in countries they have passed through unless they meet specific exceptions.

Despite pledging to end harmful programs implemented under the Trump administration that undermined the asylum system, the Biden administration has continued to employ and broaden some of those same policies. This action violates both domestic and international laws concerning human rights.

In addition to the moral and ethical issues, this ban is illegal. In its previous form under the Trump administration, the ban was repeatedly struck down as unlawful. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump-era transit ban violated U.S. asylum laws which prohibit rejecting asylum seekers unless they have "firmly resettled" in a transit country, particularly if conditions in the transit country are not safe.

Democratic members of Congress and civil rights and human rights groups have condemned the Biden administration's decision. While the administration has made meaningful movement on granting humanitarian parole policies for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, allies emphasize that these parole policies cannot displace existing asylum laws. Additionally, the financial resource requirements mean that the most vulnerable people seeking asylum will not reap the benefits of the parole programs.

Asylum is a legal right, but it is also a basic human right, founded on the right to human dignity. The existence of a GOP-themed asylum ban falters in the face of democratic values. This requires more agency for ICE and CBP, groups with a history of abusing people seeking asylum and separating families.

Democratic lawmakers stand ready to work with the Biden administration to ensure a safe, humane, and orderly border that upholds the right to asylum. The Biden administration must work with members of Congress to find ways to adequately address migration to our southern border without violating international and domestic asylum law.

Join us in demanding that the Biden administration stop the transit asylum ban.

Yes, electing the president by popular vote is possible! Joining us on The Downballot is former Vermont legislator Christopher Pearson, an official with National Popular Vote, the organization advocating for states to adopt a compact that would award their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who gets the most votes nationwide. Pearson walks us through the mechanics of the compact, debunks some common misconceptions, and lays out future steps toward hitting the required 270 electoral votes for the agreement to come into force.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/6/2155857/-Asylum-is-a-legal-basic-human-right-founded-on-the-right-to-dignity-Stop-the-transit-asylum-ban

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