EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Fifty faith-based organizations are warning the Biden administration and the Senate of a humanitarian debacle should they make it more difficult for asylum-seekers to come into the United States.
The fears stem from ongoing budget negotiations in Washington, D.C., where Republican lawmakers are demanding a crackdown at a southern border, where a reported 806,000 migrants have come in between ports of entry since Oct. 1.
“We believe the proposal to raise the legal standards for accessing the U.S. asylum system, known as the credible fear test […] would send a significant number of bona fide asylum seekers back to harm,” the groups including Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico and El Paso’s Hope Border Institute wrote in the letter dated Tuesday.
House Republicans late last year threatened to block further aid packages to Ukraine and Israel unless Biden cracks down on continuous migrant surges between ports of entry overwhelming border agents.
“We must make policy changes to reduce the flow of immigration. […] President Biden’s border policies are not working and it’s time to change course,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, was quoted in The Hill as saying.
One such change is putting more of the burden of proof on asylum seekers claiming they fear for their lives if returned to their countries — that’s the so-called credible fear standard. Last year, border agents and officers came across 2.47 million migrants on the southern border, of whom more than 85% were eventually released into the U.S., according to Border Patrol officials who met in Eagle Pass, Texas, this week with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
But the groups say it’s not fair or lawful to put an additional burden on families already stressed by personal ordeals. They say the right to seek asylum is guaranteed by U.S. laws.
“Asylum seekers who reach our southern border are often in severe distress, not only because of persecution in their home countries, but also from trauma experienced on their journeys,” the faith-based organizations wrote. “They often are unable to articulate fear, especially to law enforcement officials in a detention setting. Raising the threshold only would increase the pressure and distress they may feel, leading to a failure to credibly articulate fear and risk having their claim denied.”
Republicans also are floating mandatory detention for those whose asylum claims are pending, and fast-track removal for those immediately determined not to have a valid reason to remain in the country.
“The proposal to mandatorily detain asylum seekers is inhumane. Numerous studies have shown detention has a detrimental physical and mental impact on individuals, families and children,” the groups said. “We would propose an investment in alternatives to detention programs, which have proven to ensure the human dignity of migrants and reduce government costs.”
Others signing the letter include the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the Center for Migration Studies and Estrella del Paso, formerly Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services.
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