The new immigration crackdown launched on Tuesday by the administration of Pres. Joe Biden has garnered considerable criticism from Catholic groups along the United States-Mexico border. Also, democrats expressed their thoughts on the new transit ban.
Catholic Leaders' Stance on Transit Ban
According to The Catholic World Report, the new policy, which some people call a "transit ban," will automatically deny refuge to migrants who unlawfully cross the border into the United States or traverse other nations illegally on their way to the United States.
Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tucson, whose diocese covers large swaths of the southern border, stated that he was deeply concerned about the announcement that the Biden administration will further restrict immigrants' reasonable access to protections when fleeing violence.
The bishop also added that those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ are obligated to show a particular concern for those attempting to escape persecution. They recognize in them a reflection of the Holy Family, which was forced to flee Herod's persecution and seek refuge in Egypt.
Moreover, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso opposed the policy via Twitter with the hashtag "#NoAsylumBan." The restriction is illegal, regressive, and lays down a precedent that will be difficult to walk back," said Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Catholic migrant relief group the Hope Border Institute.
According to Corbett, asking for asylum at the border is fair, regardless of where you came from or how you got there. The safety and rights of vulnerable migrants at the edge are being violated carelessly and recklessly by the administration of Pres. Biden. This new rule, which constitutes Biden's most rigorous approach to border control, will continue to be enforced until May 11, 2025.
Democrats' Stance on Transit Ban
Truthout reported that democrats in Congress had criticized the administration of Pres. Biden for proposing a stringent new asylum rule that immigration advocates have compared to a ban enacted during the administration of former President Donald Trump. They argue that the law will put an even more significant number of people looking for asylum south of the United States border in danger.
This week, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice proposed a rule that would bar individuals from accessing asylum in the United States if they traveled through another country on their way to the U.S. border and did not seek asylum in that country first, even though many countries lack a functioning asylum system.
Opponents of the rule argue that it is essentially a resurrection of a transit ban that the Trump administration proposed. As immigration rights groups argued that the restriction was a racist attempt to circumvent U.S. asylum law to restrict the entry of specific individuals, a federal court halted the prohibition.
As per Reuters, the United States could bar tens of thousands of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border from claiming asylum under a proposal unveiled Tuesday that would be the most wide-ranging attempt yet by Pres. Biden's administration to deter unauthorized crossings. The reaction to Biden's plan to prohibit certain asylum applicants mirrored that of Trump's similar initiatives, which were halted by the judges and met with similar hostility.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) pledged to challenge the Biden regulation in court, equating it to the Trump order, which protestors termed a "transit ban."
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