Biden Administration’s New Asylum Policy
On February 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if implemented, would place significant restrictions on the right to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Non-Mexicans who enter the United States through a port of entry or who present themselves at a port of entry without a previously scheduled appointment will be presumptively ineligible for asylum unless they applied for and were denied protection in a country they traveled through on their way to the United States. Many organizations and groups have already spoken out against the implementation of this policy as many mention that it is immoral and makes access to asylum much harder for immigrants who may not have easy access to the process.
“Any rule that blocks those seeking protection in the United States from doing
so is illegal and immoral” (Kino Border Initiative)
The USCCB’s Committee on Migration strongly opposes the implementation of the new policies and has also commented on the new policy:
“While recognizing our country’s right to maintain its borders, my brother
bishops and I have consistently rejected policies that weaken asylum access
for those most in need of relief and expose them to further danger.”
During the time of Lent, it is essential to reflect on how we may have failed our neighbors. Pope Francis calls on us to remember to love our neighbors as our brothers and sisters and not to isolate ourselves and to empathize with them.
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