Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on a resolution expressing disapproval of the Biden administration’s interim final rule on asylum, which is set to go into effect on May 31.
America’s Voice strongly urges a “no” vote.
It is unfathomable that on the first day after a tragic mass murder that claimed the lives of more than 20 people, most of them children, Republicans would choose this day to demand a vote to block President Biden’s efforts to improve our asylum system and reduce chaos at the border.
The asylum rule is a key piece of the Biden administration’s plan to manage migration and would both reduce the immigration court backlog and promote a more efficient asylum system.
However, if the Senate vote of disapproval passes, the new asylum rule will be nullified and DHS will be prevented from reissuing a “substantially similar” rule in the future unless Congress authorizes it to do so via subsequent legislation.
The following is a statement from Vanessa Cárdenas, Deputy Director of America’s Voice:
Americans are mourning innocent lives lost in another mass shooting, another tragic incident where an entire classroom of grade schoolers is wiped out in a matter of minutes. Yet instead of doing something meaningful to address the epidemic of mass shootings in our country, Republicans chose this day to demand a vote on a bill that probably has no chance of passing the House or being signed by the President.
Just two weeks after another gunman hunted and killed Black people because he believes ‘his’ country is being ‘invaded’ and white people are being ‘replaced,’ Republicans feel it is their top priority to send a message that they oppose any Biden policy to address immigration or asylum in any way, even if it is a policy that they would normally support.
We strongly urge a ‘no’ vote on today’s Senate disapproval resolution vote.
The asylum rule set to go into effect next week will strengthen our border management and immigration systems, promote efficiency and order, and keep more families together. It will reduce the backlog of asylum cases, which is something Republicans have generally supported. It also creates processing centers and increases reviews of cases – all measures that Senators in both parties should support rather than block.
