This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
Shutting the Door on Asylum Seekers ¶
July 17, 2019
The Trump administration's new rule, which went into effect on July 16, 2019, has sparked widespread criticism and concern among human rights advocates. The rule effectively shuts the door on immigrant families and unaccompanied children seeking safety, including survivors of gender-based violence.
According to Archi Pyati, chief of policy for the Tahirih Justice Center, the administration's actions are a 'shameful new low' for an administration that has been rapidly rolling back legal protections for asylum seekers.
Pyati notes that the administration has thumbed its nose at American obligations under international law to uphold the Refugee Convention, leaving asylum seekers vulnerable to harm and danger.
As a result, vulnerable immigrant communities are preparing for mass arrests, separation from their families, forced detention in overcrowded warehouses, and deportation. The threatened use of these tactics, coupled with racist rhetoric, has made immigrants, particularly survivors of domestic violence, fearful of approaching law enforcement for help.
Pyati emphasizes that we cannot continue to send asylum seekers back into harm or danger after they've endured a perilous journey that few of us can even imagine.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's new Commission on Unalienable Rights has sparked concerns about the administration's commitment to global human rights. The commission, which is made up of ideological extremists and partisan hacks, has been criticized for its transparent effort to roll back the country's support for global human rights.
As Brian Dixon, senior vice president for media and government relations for the Population Connection Action Fund, notes, the administration has imposed and expanded the so-called global gag rule, which uses American assistance as a tool to deny people comprehensive health care.
Furthermore, the administration has stood with some of the world's most egregious violators of human rights and human dignity. Dixon emphasizes that the new commission is no different, and its leader has long opposed equal rights and opportunity for women and for L.G.B.T.Q. people around the world.
