Washington, DC – What do foreign students in the United States on visas, and people fleeing violence and seeking safety on U.S. soil have in common? They are both the subject of Trump administration attacks this week.
The latest is another all-out assault on “asylum,” the legal right enshrined in U.S. and international law to NOT have to stay in one place and be persecuted or killed. The U.S. used to be a beacon of hope for refugees and asylum-seekers. Now, under the Trump administration, this shining example is a distant memory. The administration’s latest proposed rule, scheduled to be published on July 9th, would wrongfully ban asylum-seekers and people seeking other humanitarian protections on the pretext of public health, despite the fact that medical experts have decried these bans as lacking a public health justification.
The new asylum ban is not to be confused with the “old” asylum ban, a behemoth proposed rule that was announced on June 15. The public was given thirty days to comment on that lengthy and complex rule, and is expected to be given the same “opportunity” when the new rule is announced tomorrow. See this press release from Human Rights First for more information on the latest proposed asylum ban.
The Trump administration has exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to carry out its long-held ambition to eliminate humanitarian protections for asylum-seekers at the southern border in violation of U.S. law and treaty obligations to refugees.
Faith Williams, Associate Director of Government Relations & Advocacy at the National Council of Jewish Women and Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has given White House Senior Advisor Stephen Miller just what he’s always wanted – an excuse to push through his racist anti-immigrant and anti-asylee policies as quickly as possible and run slipshod over our nation’s laws, history, and values. What could be more evil than cutting human beings off from the lifeline of asylum protections? With this proposed rule, Miller is siding with the persecutors. More people will die because of it.”
Elissa Diaz, Policy Associate at Church World Service and Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition added: “It’s time for President Trump and his administration to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and not finding new ways to put vulnerable families in danger. People of faith and conscience need to stand up. Jesus was a refugee. Trump and Miller would turn him away today.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 55 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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