People are calling for the Biden Administration to impose new limits on who can seek asylum in the United States

https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/demandan-administracion-biden-restricciones-asilo/7654386.html

A group of migrant advocates filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration in federal court in Washington for its most recent measures restricting asylum at the southwest border.

A coalition of migrant advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President Joe Biden over new measures that restrict access to asylum on the southwest border.

The lawsuit comes a week after Biden’s announcement of the measure that will close the southern border with Mexico when arrival numbers “exceed the capacity” of processing at entry points.

“These executive actions will effectively close any access to asylum protection for the vast majority of people arriving at the US-Mexico border, no matter how strong their claims,” reads the lawsuit filed Wednesday by the group.

Advocates argue that this administration decision is not much different than a similar action under Donald Trump that was blocked by the courts.

In addition, he accuses the ban of only allowing access to asylum to those who can get a “scarce” appointment, in reference to the CBP One appointments that allow certain migrants to present themselves at a port of entry between Mexico and the United States.

“We had no choice but to sue. “The administration lacks unilateral authority to override Congress and ban asylum based on how one enters the country, a point the courts made abundantly clear when the Trump Administration unsuccessfully attempted a nearly identical ban,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the Office of Immigrants of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The order Biden issued last week would limit the processing of asylum applications once the number of encounters with migrants between ports of entry reaches 2,500 a day. The measure went into effect immediately because the latest figures available were much higher, at approximately 4,000 daily encounters.

“The Biden Administration’s actions effectively closed the door on countless people fleeing violence and persecution,” added Arthur Spitzer, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of the District of Columbia.

The case was presented before the US federal court in Washington.

The restrictions will remain in effect until two weeks after the number of those daily encounters between ports of entry is at or below 1,500 per day for a seven-day average. But it is far from clear when the numbers would reach such low levels; the last time was in July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other groups that filed the lawsuit along with the ACLU are the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Jenner & Block LLP, the ACLU of the District of Columbia and the Texas Civil Rights Project.

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