Shutterstock / Vic Hinterlang
A gaggle of migrants looking for U.S. asylum stroll down a highway beside the Rio Grande River to show themselves in to the Border Patrol.
Democratic members of San Antonio’s congressional delegation joined immigrant-rights teams in railing in opposition to President Joe Biden’s Tuesday government order, which locations day by day caps on asylum requests at official factors of entry.
Underneath political stress to tighten immigration restrictions amid a surge in border crossings, Biden issued an order that briefly halts asylum requests as soon as the common variety of day by day encounters at official factors of entry tops 2,500. Authorized crossings would solely resume after that day by day quantity dwindles to 1,500.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, warned that the order, if allowed to enter impact, would embolden future presidents — particularly Republicans — to “choke off” the correct to migrants to pursue reliable asylum instances.
“America of America turned the strongest, most affluent nation on earth due to — not regardless of — immigration,” Castro stated in an emailed assertion. “The ‘day by day threshold’ on this government order would quantity to a practical ban on asylum for a lot of households escaping persecution and violence. It could essentially change our asylum legal guidelines with none new protections for Dreamers or different immigrants who’ve paid taxes, raised households, and contributed to our nation’s prosperity.”
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat whose district consists of elements of San Antonio and Austin, urged Biden to take a look at the explanations behind the present wave of border crossings reasonably than clamp down on these looking for refuge. The congressman stated he is now drafting laws to handle the basis causes of pressured migration.
“Earlier than we blame asylum seekers for fleeing starvation and violence, we must always first finish U.S. insurance policies that contribute to hunger and instability of their house international locations,” Casar stated in a press release. “As a substitute of imposing at the moment’s shortsighted government order, President Biden ought to finish sanctions in Latin America and replace our commerce and financial insurance policies. This would cut back stress on our restricted border sources with out reverting to harsh, Trump-lite measures.”The Trump administration tried to implement related restrictions in 2018 however the courts shut down its efforts. Officers with the Biden White Home have publicly acknowledged they’re ready to defend the brand new order in opposition to related authorized challenges.
In a press release issued Tuesday, the ACLU stated it is able to sue to overturn Biden’s order.
“We want options to handle the challenges on the border, however the administration’s deliberate government actions will put 1000’s of lives in danger,” Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer on the ACLU, stated in an emailed assertion. “They won’t meet the wants on the border, nor will they repair our damaged immigration system.”
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