09/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/30/2024 15:16
CONTACTS: | |
George Tzamaras 202-507-7649 [email protected] |
Belle Woods 202-507-7675 [email protected] |
Washington, DC - Today, the Biden Administration moved forward to codify into federal regulations harmful policies which are already undermining U.S. asylum law and denying fair access to humanitarian protection for vulnerable individuals and families.
Kelli Stump, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) stated, "It is imperative that our nation have safe, orderly, and efficient processes at the border that also ensure fair and humane treatment of asylum seekers. The consequences of denying asylum to someone who is being persecuted can literally be a matter of life or death. AILA has opposed these policies out of concern that the changes would effectively bar access to asylum for nearly all people seeking protection at our border. Since June those concerns have become reality."
AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson stated, "We cannot and must not allow the guarantee of due process, a foundational American value, to be cast aside, leaving the most vulnerable without an advocate and unable to make their voices heard. It is shameful that the Biden Administration is codifying these rules; they are putting justice and fairness aside in the name of expediency."