Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC to President Biden: It is Wrong to Trade Restrictions on Asylum and Migrant Rights in Exchange for Foreign Aid Funding
- Contact
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recent reports indicate the Biden Administration is willing to make significant, harmful changes to asylum and immigration enforcement as Congress renews negotiations around a supplemental funding package. The Biden Administration is reportedly willing to accept permanent policy changes that would effectively gut the asylum system and create an expansion of expedited removal to apply to individuals and families across the country.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC issues the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed that this administration—which made a promise to ‘restore our historical role as a safe haven for refugees and asylum seekers’—is now willing to negotiate with anti-immigrant lawmakers who have no qualms about exposing asylum seekers to persecution and even the risk of death.
“President Biden must stand strong in the face of these unconscionable proposals and advocate for real solutions instead of working with lawmakers who are willing to exploit this political moment to undermine the human right to seek safety. Advancing Justice – AAJC stands with nearly 200 other organizations in rejecting attacks on asylum in these negotiations, especially at a time when a growing number of individuals and families from Asia are seeking refuge.
“It has been nearly forty years since the United States has made significant changes to its dysfunctional immigration system. Congress must work together and with the White House on comprehensive immigration reform that ensures the safe, humane and orderly reception of asylum seekers and migrants, robust use of existing pathways including the family-based immigration system, and permanent protections for our undocumented families and community members.”