July 15, 2019 - The Trump Administration is planning to turn away asylum-seeking families at the Southern border
Today, a devastating new policy was announced--one of the Trump Administration's most serious blows yet to the long-standing humanitarian principle of protecting people seeking refuge. Per the regulation (due to go into effect tomorrow, July 16), individuals and families fleeing violence will no longer be able to exercise their legal right to pursue asylum in the U.S., if they pass through another country before arriving at the U.S. border. This means that our country is effectively shutting its doors to families--most prominently, Central Americans--who travel through Mexico, Guatemala, and other countries to get here. Many will be forced to stay in Mexico, where conditions for migrants are highly unsafe. Read more about the new policy here.
The new plan, along with the gross indignity forced upon asylum-seekers in Customs and Border Patrol detention camps, is part of a systematic effort to dismantle migrants' human rights and punish them for being "other." Refugee Transitions joins the many immigrant advocacy agencies who are speaking out in condemnation of this cruelty. According to legal experts, the new regulation is in clear violation of U.S. and international law. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already announced its intention to file a court challenge.
Please contact your elected representatives and demand they take action to protect people seeking refuge in the U.S.
Update: Here is a useful call script from Refugee Council USA.
Learn what RT is doing to welcome our asylum-seeking neighbors.