WASHINGTON, DC – A recent article from The New Republic, “Asylum Seekers Struggle to Navigate Trump’s Broken Border Policy,” paints a terrifying picture about how the Trump administration’s policies have already broken the asylum system and endangered human lives.
Thursday, June 20, the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to take up legislation authored by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to give the Trump administration even more tools to repress asylum seekers, refugees, and unaccompanied children – and push them back into harm’s way.
June 20 is also World Refugee Day, when our nation celebrates the contributions refugees are making to their new homes, and calls on the administration and Congress to restore the refugee resettlement program and do more to protect the world’s most vulnerable people.
Following are key excerpts from The New Republic story about the dangers of the administration’s current asylum policy, and quotes from religious leaders opposed to giving President Trump even more authority to harm human lives.
Describing the Trump administration’s decision to force many asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while staking their claims, The New Republic reporter Madeleine Wattenbarger writes:
In mid-May, the Tijuana list had around 5,000 migrants waiting for their turn to enter the U.S. and make their asylum claim. While these immigrants may have waited a month or two to seek asylum before MPP began, now, their time on the southern side of the border extends indefinitely. And every migrant in Tijuana is at risk in some way, especially if they aren’t Mexican, according to Luis Guerra, a consultant from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. Guerra is working with the Border Rights Project and Al Otro Lado, one of the only organizations providing consistent legal counsel to asylum seekers in Tijuana. “They’re constantly being targeted by local law enforcement,” he said, “and because they’re stuck here, they are being sought out by their persecutors [from their home countries], and many have been found.”
“I’ve talked to people that are no longer alive.” Guerra said. “We know that many people have disappeared from Tijuana.” [emphasis added]
Wattenbarger provides an example of how just one asylum seeker is being treated currently. Magnify this by the hundreds, and then tack on the additional gratuitously cruel policies included in the Graham legislation, and the prospect is almost too chilling to consider. But consider it we must, as this is what our government is already doing:
Jeffrey came to Tijuana from Honduras in November, and he entered the U.S. in early April to seek asylum. That day, he was assigned a court date—May 7—and was then sent to the hielera, where he spent five days before being sent back to Tijuana. When Jeffrey showed up at court on May 7, though, the judge didn’t have him scheduled for a hearing. (Guerra said this is now happening more frequently, due to lack of coordination between DHS and the courts.) Jeffrey was ordered back to Mexico, but DHS agents had taken his backpack, holding his passport, humanitarian visa, and documents he would need to prove the danger he faced in Honduras. Jeffrey told the officials he wouldn’t return to Tijuana without the backpack, at which point he was returned to the ice box for four more days. CBP then sent him back over the border with an empty backpack. His new court date is scheduled for August, ten months after his arrival in Tijuana, but he no longer has the documents he needs to request asylum. He doesn’t even have a way to prove his identity. [emphasis added]
“The Presbyterian Church (USA) has supported the rights of refugees since the refugee crisis of World War II,” said Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, director of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness. “We as Presbyterians believe that we have a moral obligation to advocate for the entry and integration of refugees in the United States, and to resist anti-refugee actions and policies. We stand against the Graham Bill because it negatively impacts the lives of hundreds of refugees and does not promote the adoption of future humane border policies.”
“Our church partners bravely caring for asylum seekers in Ciudad Juarez have very limited resources and their safety has been threatened by cartels — a situation that has been made worse by policies like Migrant Protection Protocols and Metering,” said Rev. Reggie Smith, Office of Social Justice, Christian Reformed Church in North America. “Considering legislation that would further limit vulnerable people’s access to asylum — ironically on World Refugee Day — is a cruel response to a humanitarian crisis that should elicit compassion and respect of human dignity.”
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service, said: “It is an ancient truth that what good faith requires of us is to do justice, and to love kindness. S. 1494 is the antithesis of this guiding principle. It serves to erode current standards for children in detention, dismantle protections for unaccompanied children, and return children to harm. These provisions are reprehensible on their own but are especially audacious given the deaths of multiple children in immigration custody since December of last year. Our nation’s conscience has been repeatedly shocked by the images of horrific treatment of families and vulnerable individuals at our southern border, and yet this legislation would expand family detention and scapegoat vulnerable people. There is no way to reconcile this with the meaning of walking humbly with God.
“In honor of World Refugee Day, we ask Senator Lindsey Graham and the Senate Judiciary Committee to withdraw this legislation, to consider new ways to further address the plight of asylum seekers, unaccompanied children and others who ask for our protection; and focus on restoring our nation’s moral promise to the vulnerable amongst us.”
“It is especially cruel,” states Patrick Carolan, executive director of Franciscan Action Network, “that on World Refugee Day, when we celebrate the contributions of refugees to our country, legislation to further reject and harm refugees, asylum seekers and unaccompanied children, will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. As Christians, we Franciscans follow the mandate of Jesus to welcome the stranger and we heed the message of Pope Francis to build bridges, not walls. As U.S. Americans we value our country’s tradition of humanitarian protection of those seeking safety from violence and repression. We call on Congress to provide funding to support asylum seekers, refugees and unaccompanied children, not pass heartless legislation that would cause them further harm.”
In addition to the Graham bill, Congress is also considering additional funding requests from the administration that further militarize our southern border. These are immoral uses of our tax dollars. It is critical that Congress instead pass supplemental funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) so that it can fully serve all populations within its care and offer unaccompanied children community-based residential care, post-release services, and other services that are in the best interest of the child.
“From those who have much, much is expected,” said Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. “We must responsibly fund the government, while ensuring that programs for the common good are strengthened. Funding is desperately needed to address the crisis that President Trump has created at our Southern border. We have a communal duty to these children fleeing violence. Any spending package must reject border militarization and provide a just response to terrified children in need.”
Rev. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries in the U.S. and Canada, said: “Our faith communities tell us that resettling refugees and assisting communities in deep need helps them learn about the heart of Christ, and experience more of the love of our merciful God. Intentionally rejecting families in deepest pain is a severe slap to our faith sensibilities. Instead of slamming the door to communities in need on World Refugee Day, we call upon Senator McConnell to remember our heritage as Americans by affirming our bi-partisan commitment to raise the numbers of refugees and allow unaccompanied children and asylum seekers who are fleeing violence to be welcomed into the arms of our congregations ready to embrace them.”
Read the Interfaith Immigration Coalition’s border policy recommendations here. For a list of programs and policies that should be funded with American tax dollars, see this memo.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 52 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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