SPLC Condemns the Biden Administration’s Plan to Further Criminalize Migration at the Border

WASHINGTON — Last week, the Biden Administration announced its plans to increase the prosecution of immigration-related violations at the U.S. border, presumably through increased prosecutions of unauthorized entry and re-entry under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1325 and 1326. 

In addition to criminalizing people seeking asylum, these statutory provisions have explicitly racist and anti-Mexican origins. Over the past two years, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) joined a series of amicus briefs, including a brief in the case of the United States of America v. Rodrigues-Barios, explaining the racist history of these laws. 

“The decision by this administration to criminalize migrants—many of whom are fleeing harm—is deeply disturbing and misguided,” said Sarah M. Rich, senior supervising attorney, and interim senior policy counsel at the SPLC. “We have witnessed how such prosecutions can be weaponized to separate and traumatize immigrant families. Prosecuting people seeking safety in the U.S. for these immigration violations will lead to more Black and Brown people being incarcerated at the expense of immigrant families and communities.” 

“We call on the Biden administration to instead adopt a humane and welcoming immigration framework that centers our values as a nation that welcomes immigrants,” concluded Rich. 

From HIAS:

With President Biden reportedly set to issue a new executive order that will dramatically limit migrants’ ability to seek asylum at the US-Mexico border, a spokesperson for the leading refugee support agency HIAS is available for an interview about the move’s potentially harmful impacts. 

HIAS recently said it was “alarmed that the administration seems to be reacting to political pressures rather than implementing solutions that address the real challenges at the border…Congress and the administration need to reform and invest so that our country has an efficient asylum system that protects people who need it and returns people who don’t.”

This Wednesday, June 5, a HIAS-organized delegation of rabbis and Jewish community leaders from around the country will meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for humane, comprehensive immigration policies and the end of failed, harmful deterrence measures. The delegation will include renowned human rights activist and political leader Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan borough president and former CEO of American Jewish World Service. 

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