Washington, D.C. – Today, President Biden announced plans to expand legal pathways for some, while expanding Title 42, and enacting a “transit ban,” which would bar people from seeking asylum if they passed through a third country.
Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, Deputy Director of Federal Advocacy of United We Dream, said:
“President Biden was right to call out the fear mongering and hateful rhetoric used by Republicans and to expose them for scapegoating asylum seekers to distract from the Republican Party’s lack of solutions and chaotic leadership. However, despite talking about our values as a welcoming nation, the border policies announced today spit in the face of those very ideals. Title 42 is a cruel policy dreamt up by white supremacists Trump, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller and with it our government is denying hundreds of thousands of Black and brown immigrants their right to seek legal asylum. By continuing to leverage and even expand Title 42 the Biden administration is hurting the same people seeking asylum that they purport to protect.
At the same time, implementing a so-called “transit ban” denies people their due process, and discriminates against immigrants without financial means. Those without the funds for direct air travel, who have to walk hundreds of thousands of miles through different countries, will be the most impacted. Respecting people’s right to asylum takes more than words, it must be reflected in the actions of this administration. People will always move, and as a country we have a responsibility to live up to our values of providing a welcoming environment for people to seek asylum with dignity. While Congress must work with the Biden administration to pass legislation that would provide a path to citizenship to millions of immigrants in the U.S., we also need President Biden to lead by example and champion the right to seek asylum.”
