Washington.- A coalition of migrant advocacy groups filed a lawsuit this Wednesday to stop the most recent measure by President Joe Biden’s government that practically suspends asylum applications at the country’s southern border, arguing that it is not very different from a proposed action during Donald Trump’s presidency that was blocked by the courts.
The lawsuit — filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others on behalf of the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and RAICES — is the first test of the legality of Biden’s sweeping restrictions on the southern border. , which came after months of internal deliberations in the White House and are intended to deflect attacks against the president for his handling of immigration.
“By implementing a ban on asylum that is legally indistinguishable from the Trump ban that we successfully blocked, we were left with no choice but to file this lawsuit,” said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt.
Biden last week issued an order limiting the processing of asylum applications once the number of encounters with migrants between ports of entry reaches 2,500 a day. The measure came into effect immediately because the latest figures available were much higher, approximately 4,000 encounters per day.
The restrictions will remain in place until two weeks after the number of daily encounters between ports of entry falls below 1,500 for a week in a row. But it is far from clear when the numbers will reach such low levels; the last time was in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The order went into effect June 5, and federal government officials have said they anticipate deportations to reach unprecedented levels.
But activists argue that suspending asylum for migrants who do not arrive through a specific port of entry — which the Biden administration is trying to get them to do — violates current federal immigration law, among other concerns.
Biden invoked the same legal authority that former President Trump’s administration used for its asylum ban, which corresponds to Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That provision allows a president to limit the entry of certain migrants if their entry is considered “detrimental” to the country’s interests.
During his re-election campaign, Biden has repeatedly criticized Trump’s immigration policies and his administration claims that this guideline is different, since it includes several exemptions for humanitarian reasons. For example, victims of human trafficking, minors traveling unaccompanied by an adult and those with serious medical problems would not be subject to the limits.
“We adhere to the legality of what we have done,” said Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, in statements to the ABC program “This Week” before the lawsuit was filed.
Under Biden’s directive, migrants who arrive at the border and do not express a credible fear of returning to their home countries will be subject to expedited deportation from the United States, which would take place within days or even hours. These migrants could face penalties that could include a ban of up to five years from re-entering the United States or even criminal prosecution.
Meanwhile, migrants who express fear for their safety or the intention to request asylum will be reviewed by a US asylum officer, but under a stricter standard than the current one. If they pass that review, they can apply for other forms of humanitarian protection, including those covered by the United Nations Convention against Torture, which prohibits sending people back to a country where they face the possibility of being tortured.
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