WRC Responds to DHS/DOS Sweeping Asylum Announcement

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Department of State (DOS) Secretary Antony Blinken issued a sweeping announcement of how the U.S. will treat people seeking protection at the U.S.-Mexico border and process their cases as the longstanding Title 42 policy comes to an end on May 11. The measures also included a number of steps intended to expand access to refugee processing from within Central and South America.

In response, Katharina Obser, director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission, issued the following statement:

“The Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) welcomes the administration’s recognition of the need for more pathways to protection for people displaced in Latin America and the Caribbean. While it remains to be seen how quickly and how meaningfully these measures will be resourced and implemented, expanding access to refugee resettlement, expanding the ability to reunite with families, and expanding the ability to parole into the United States can make a substantial difference for many people currently fleeing harm and seeking protection.

“However, WRC remains deeply concerned that these measures come at the expense of the ability to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Although today’s announcement suggests more appointments will become available for people seeking asylum using the CBP One application — and WRC supports increasing capacity for asylum processing at ports of entry — the administration should also maintain the right to seek asylum without an appointment for those who cannot wait or cannot use the application. On a recent trip to the border, I spoke with dozens of women waiting in northern Mexico, many despairing after months of trying to use CBP One — and failing through no fault of their own — to comply with this requirement. Someone fleeing for their life should never have to depend on first securing an appointment with a difficult and limited app.

“For those who do manage to access the asylum process at the U.S. border with Mexico, we also have serious concerns over how quickly they will be processed and the implications for the fairness of their asylum case. Expedited processing will undoubtedly translate into enormous due process violations, and we know it will be nearly impossible for someone to argue their asylum case, even for an initial screening, without meaningful access to a lawyer, and by telephone from either border custody or an ICE detention center. WRC has always supported a safe and orderly process for people seeking asylum, but such a process must also be fair, dignified, and rights-respecting.

“The new measures would come alongside the implementation of the Biden administration’s proposed rule on asylum that essentially appears to ban those who did not first attempt to seek asylum in a country they transited to, or who did not use CBP One to schedule an appointment. WRC stands alongside thousands of others who commented in firm opposition to this rule. While we are heartened to see the administration more robustly fund case management, rather than detention, to support families and people in their cases once released, such measures do not mitigate the severely curtailed access to asylum in the first place.

“Ultimately, the expansion of access to one set of protections — such as resettlement, parole, and family reunification — should not come at the expense of others, such as access to asylum at the border. We had hoped to be able to express more support and optimism about the administration’s proposed plans as Title 42 finally comes to a long overdue end. Ultimately, while we welcome additional migration pathways and regional processes, we call on the administration to again reconsider its approach to asylum at the U.S. border.”

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