US suspends Trump-era asylum restrictions for survivors of violence | Migration News

The Trump-era boundaries made it difficult for asylum seekers fleeing domestic or gang violence to protect themselves in the U.S.

The Biden administration has overturned Trump-era policies that made it difficult for asylum seekers fleeing domestic or gang violence in the United States to gain protection in the United States, a move accepted by migration advocates as an important step forward.

In a three-page legal opinion on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the widespread language threatens to “create confusion in decisions made under the administration of former President Donald Trump and disclose specific cases in asylum applications.”

Garland enacted a new policy to provide humanitarian protection to help asylum seekers fleeing domestic and gang violence to help them win their cases.

“The significance of this cannot be overstated,” said Kate Melloy Goettel, legal director of American Immigration Council litigation. “Trump was one of the worst decisions against asylum in the Trump era, and the first step in dismantling that is really important.”

President Joe Biden has promised to continue a “more humane” immigration system than his predecessors, as he has implemented a number of anti-immigration policies, among others. a ban on access to citizens of several Muslim-majority countries and severe restrictions on the southern border with Mexico.

The Center for Gender and Refugee Research (CGRS) said in a statement to UC Hastings Law of College on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice under Trump has issued precedent-setting decisions that “pile up on the backs of asylum seekers.”

Honestly, it disproportionately harmed women, children and LGBTQ + people, and they fled while being deported to the same countries, the center said.

“These decisions were legally flawed and introduced unnecessary confusion in the decision-making process, leading the judges to refuse to protect the case face-to-face, rather than giving each case a reasonable consideration of its facts,” his statement says.

The CGRS welcomed Garland’s announcement that “the Biden administration represents a tremendous step forward in its efforts to rebuild our asylum system.”

Garland also separated on Wednesday from a decision that limited asylum applications based on harassment because of family relationships.

“Today’s announcement will help the Trump administration undo some of the damage caused by attacks on asylum, and we join our colleagues in accelerating and deepening efforts with the Biden administration in this regard,” said Cody Wofsy, an ACLU staff lawyer. The Immigrant Rights Project was also mentioned in the CGRS document.

Migration advocates have pushed Biden further to fulfill its commitment to rebuilding asylum in the U.S., among other things. Trump-era public health directive – Called during the COVID-19 pandemic – allows most asylum seekers to be rejected without hearing their requests.

The U.S. president has stepped up political pressure from Republicans and other critics register the number of asylum seekers He reached the border in Mexico seeking protection.

Biden, who has promised to address the “fundamental causes” of migration, has promised Vice President Kamala Harris to stop the arrivals. He has visited Guatemala and Mexico this month he told them they would be asylum seekers: “Don’t come”.

These comments drew widespread criticism from migration advocates, who said that asylum was a right guaranteed by international law and called on the Biden administration to comply with an order to break with Trump’s policies.

Most asylum seekers reaching the U.S. border in recent months come from southern Mexico and countries in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in so-called “Northern Triangles,” which are experiencing widespread violence, socioeconomic and devastating crises. the effects of recent storms.