Washington, DC – The Trump administration is poised to introduce an interim final rule that would ban those who seek safety at the U.S. southern border from requesting asylum here if they travel through another country en route to the United States.
The rule would have a profound impact on Central Americans facing persecution and violence from gangs. But the rule would also affect Cubans, Haitians, Africans, Indians, and others fleeing religious persecution and other forms of abuse.
“This country was founded as a bastion for religious freedom. At a time when so many are fleeing egregious human rights violations, the U.S. should honor its commitment to the founding fathers and make more provisions for asylum seekers, not less,” said UNITED SIKHS CEO Jagdeep Singh. “For those who are fleeing violence and religious persecution, we urge our leaders in government to enact more provisions, and not less. The recent deaths of Gurupreet Kaur, Angie Valeria, and so many others point to the urgency of this tragic humanitarian crisis, which must be addressed with dignity and swift, long-term solutions.”
“Only the Trump administration would deal with a refugee crisis by ending refugee protections,” said the Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service. “Isaiah 10 (NIV) says: ‘Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.’ The administration’s response to individuals facing murder, extortion, and other violence is simply cruel and utterly unjust.”
Said Melanie Nezer, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at HIAS: “The United States has decades of established law that protect the right of those seeking refuge in the United States. ‘Following the law’ means accepting refugees and allowing individuals to make their asylum claims. The administration is subverting the law and the will of Congress. The administration cannot override the law to suit its preferences.”
Recent news articles about murders, attempted kidnappings, and disappearances of migrants who have been forced to wait in Mexico for asylum hearings in the United States show that turning away asylum seekers is immoral, illegal, and puts people to harm’s way. Luis Guerra of CLINIC has worked with asylum-seekers who have been subjected to the “Remain in Mexico” policy. He told The New Republic: “I’ve talked to people that are [now] no longer alive. We know that many people have disappeared from Tijuana.”
“Our very own State Department cautions against travel to many of the nations that these migrants are passing through in search of safety,” said the Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries. “Yet we think they are ‘safe enough’ for refugees seeking protection. This is absurd. We must place a high value on each human life, and offer secure opportunities for refugees to receive asylum.”
“Asylum is an internationally recognized life-saving process that is firmly embedded in U.S. law and history,” said Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. “Attempting to subvert this process is a betrayal of American history and our legal system. Asylum-seekers need our protection, not another door slammed in their faces.”
“As Pope Francis said last week in his return to the immigrant-receiving island of Lampedusa, we are called to be, as Scripture asks, ‘those angels, ascending and descending, taking under our wings the little ones, the lame, the sick, those excluded.’ Our call to care for others doesn’t get much plainer than that,” Gallagher added.
“In the face of multiple refugee crises across the world, the United States should be expanding U.S. protection for refugees, asylum seekers, and others seeking safety and taking in more of the world’s persecuted people. Instead, this administration is shamefully putting more refugees’ lives in danger through this and other attacks on our asylum system,” said Kathryn Johnson, Policy Advocacy Coordinator with the American Friends Service Committee.
“Deuteronomy 24:17 (NIV) declares, ‘Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice.’ Yet, the Trump administration’s move to end asylum protections denies safety, freedom and justice to those most in need of it. As people of faith, we call the United States government to immediately reverse its inhumane policies and expand protections for asylum seekers,” said the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness.
“The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) strongly opposes President Trump’s latest Interim Final Rule, which will effectively serve as an asylum ban,” said Sheila Katz, CEO. “The Torah commands us to welcome the stranger. NCJW has been working on issues of immigration for 125 years and we will not stand idly by as the most vulnerable among us are in need now.”
“The right to asylum is preserved by U.S. law and the reasons our country should offer asylum are determined in the sacred scriptures of our faith. Severely limiting and curtailing access to asylum as part of a broader program to close our borders and limit our welcome is not just illogical and irresponsible statecraft, but cedes any moral clarity or ground that the U.S. might have. We must not let this change go forward; we must find ways to welcome asylum seekers, who after all are just as deserving of humanity and dignity as any of us,” said Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President, the United Church of Christ.
“People have the legal right to seek asylum in a country where they can be safe. This administration’s new interim final rule would essentially end the asylum process. It violates U.S. laws, international human rights law, and is contrary to our faith traditions,” said Rob Rutland-Brown, Executive Director of National Justice for Our Neighbors. “Moreover, the U.S. has a moral obligation to treat asylum seekers, migrants, and others seeking safety within our borders with enough dignity to allow their case to be heard.”
Christopher Kerr, Ignatian Solidarity Network executive director said: “Yesterday, Catholics around the world attending mass heard the ‘Parable of the Good Samaritan’ and a message of love for one’s neighbor proclaimed in the Gospel. Today, our nation awoke to the news of the President of the United States seeking to shut off access to safety and refuge for Central American families facing horrific violence, repression, and poverty in their home countries. This is not the act of a ‘Good Samaritan’—instead it is an effort that does not honor the inherent dignity of those seeking asylum in our country. Not only would the decision have a profound impact on Central Americans facing poverty and gang violence, but it would also affect people from many other countries fleeing religious persecution and other forms of abuse. ‘Being compassionate means recognizing the suffering of the other and taking immediate action to soothe, heal and save,’ said Pope Francis in his 2019 World Day of Migrants and Refugees address, when referring to the actions of the Good Samaritan. As a nation, we should seek to be more like the Samaritan, choosing to be people of compassion.”
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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