Democrats are slamming President Joe Biden’s new proposed change to asylum rules that could penalize those who cross the border illegally without first asking for protection in a country they traveled through on their way to the United States.
The new rules, which must undergo a public comment period for 30 days, are expected to restrict access to the asylum process and could lead to more deportations for some seeking protection in the U.S.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Administration has chosen to move forward with publishing this proposed rule, which only perpetuates the harmful myth that asylum seekers are a threat to this nation," Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) said in a joint statement Tuesday night. "In reality, they are pursuing a legal pathway in the United States."
The 153-page proposed regulation announced Tuesday is the latest in a series of new initiatives by the Biden administration in an effort to deter migrants and asylum-seekers from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The asylum plan is the most restrictive policy proposed yet by the Biden administration and cites the federal government’s “anticipation of a potential surge of migrants at the southwest border” after the Title 42 pandemic border policy is expected to be lifted in late spring.
NEW BIDEN RULE WOULD MAKE ILLEGAL BORDER-CROSSERS INELIGIBLE FOR ASYLUM
Booker, Menendez, Lujan, and Padilla said they urged the Biden administration last month to abandon the proposed regulation. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with the Senate’s four Latino Democrats last week to talk immigration policy, and this proposed rule was also discussed, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
"We urge President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas to reverse course and pave a better path forward that protects the right to asylum while addressing the real operational challenges at our Southern Border," the senators wrote in the joint statement.
CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS PUSH BACK ON NEW BIDEN IMMIGRATION POLICIES
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus had previously voiced frustration with the administration when the rule was initially announced. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the top Democrat on the panel, and Rep. Pramilla Jayapal (D-WA), the top Democrat on the immigration integrity, security and enforcement subcommittee, said in a statement that they are “deeply disappointed in the Biden administration’s proposal to limit access to asylum.”
“The ability to seek asylum is a bedrock principle protected by federal law and should never be violated. We should not be restricting legal pathways to enter the United States, we should be expanding them,” the statement said. “Last month, we saw the positive impact new legal pathways can have on irregular migration. We hope the Biden administration will reconsider much of this proposed rule.”
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The announcement of the new rule comes just as the federal government rolled out a new process that would deny people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti the chance to apply for asylum if they cross the Mexican border without authorization between official ports of entry. The administration said it has already seen some success from the policy, with illegal crossings down in January.