Trump administration proposes limiting asylum eligibility on public health grounds

The Trump administration continues its concerted effort to restrict asylum relief.  Once again, I am reminded how this administration is focused on restricting the numbers of noncitizens in this country like no other in modern U.S. history.  The policy measures, large and small, just keep coming.  

As CNN puts it, “[t]he last 4 months have brought an unprecedented crackdown on legal US immigration.”  The beat goes on. 

Yesterday, the Trump administration announced a proposed rule that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to ban people from seeking asylum in the United States because they traveled from or through a country under threat by a serious disease. The administration would also ban “withholding of removal,” a related form of protection. The government has given 30 days for public comment on the proposed rule.

Here is the proposed rule.

Suzanne Monyak for Law360 and Priscilla Alvarez for CNN report on the proposed rule and criticism.

American Immigration Lawyers Association President Jennifer Minear commented on the proposed rule:

“Protecting our nation’s health and security is vital, but this sweeping ban on asylum seekers is entirely unnecessary and unjustified. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other federal agencies already have the tools they need to keep our nation safe from anyone who might have a serious communicable disease, including stringent immigration screening procedures and laws that protect against public health risks. The United States has among the highest COVID-19 infection rates worldwide, so the real threat of COVID-19 is not outside our nation’s borders but within them. Like the prior CDC order from March that was recently extended indefinitely to ban asylum seekers,  this is an unconscionable attempt to scapegoat vulnerable people who are seeking humanitarian protection under the pre-textual ruse of safeguarding the public health. The redundant nature of this ban also makes it clear that this is a backstop in case the courts strike down the border bans already implemented by this administration.  America can and must process the applications of asylum seekers arriving at our borders in an orderly and humane fashion while still protecting the public welfare.”

Beth Werlin, executive director of the American Immigration Council, commented:

“We stand with all Americans in wanting to keep everyone safe and healthy during this pandemic. However, this proposed regulation does not do that. There are existing legal mechanisms in place to address public health concerns. Instead, this proposed rule is part of an ongoing effort to scapegoat asylum seekers for a virus that is already widespread in the United States. The proposal is simply a pretext to implement a drastic change to our immigration system that the administration has sought from day one – the elimination of asylum in the United States. How we treat vulnerable populations during the coronavirus pandemic will define our true character as a nation for years to come. America can be a leader in public health, rule of law, and compassion.”

Human Rights First released this statement about the proposed rule:

“Human Rights First condemns the Trump administration’s latest anti-asylum rule, slated to be issued on July 9, banning asylum-seekers and people seeking other humanitarian protections on the pretext of public health. This renewed attack on asylum extends the administration’s ongoing illegal efforts to block asylum-seekers under the guise of an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on COVID-19 that public health experts have decried as specious and lacking a public health justification.”

KJ