More Failure On Its Way At The Border
The following is a statement from Pili Tobar, Deputy Director of America’s Voice, reacting to the new restrictions on asylum seekers proposed by the Trump Administration.
New restrictions on asylum encapsulate the vicious cruelty, failed policy, and cynical political motivations that define all things Trump and immigration. This latest anti-immigrant action concerning asylum seekers will prove to be just another in a litany of failures to actually solve the humanitarian crisis at the border.
Trump thinks if we just erect enough legal, financial and physical barriers people will not come, but the people leaving Central America are fleeing a burning house. They cannot stay where they are; they have to go someplace. Trump thinks foolishly they will stop coming here.
The idea that destitute families fleeing for their lives are going to be charged a fee to apply for asylum and will be barred from earning a wage to support themselves while their case is under review is cruel and nonsensical. And it is directly at odds with America’s core national values – Emma Lazarus didn’t add ‘pay to play’ language in an asterisk or include ‘this offer only valid…’ terms in the fine print.
The proposed restrictions are doomed to fail because they will simply inject more chaos and inhumanity into the current humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, alternative approaches and strategies are on the table that a more sane administration would pursue — policies that would be smarter, more humane, would focus on why people are actually coming, and would be much more effective at regaining control and resolving related challenges.
The Trump team isn’t motivated by effective policy and lasting solutions to the humanitarian crisis. Trump views headline-grabbing punishment inflicted against immigrants and asylum seekers as a core part of his brand ahead of the divisive 2020 re-election. He is offering a Coliseum style fight and playing the role of Caesar. It’s ugly, it’s cynical, and it’s a preview of what we’ll keep seeing from the New White House as all the agencies of the federal government become arms of the Trump campaign.
