Instead of band-aid approach and chaos of asylum ban, “Biden has real and better options both substantively and politically” – Vanessa Cárdenas
Washington, DC – More voices are weighing in to condemn the Biden administration’s asylum ban, highlighting its echoes of the Trump administration, the chaos and cruelty of the policy, and the misguided political assessment driving the announcement.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“The Biden asylum ban has rightfully been condemned as mirroring the cruelty of the Trump approach and incentivizing more disorder and chaos. It doesn’t have to be this way. Biden has real and better options both substantively and politically. Instead of blurring distinctions with Republicans’ extremism and preference for nativist political theater over real solutions, President Biden should be defining these contrasts in sharper relief and leaning in on the range of executive actions and broader immigration fixes outlined in the new blueprint by The Immigration Hub and allies including America’s Voice (see here).”
Among the key voices condemning the asylum ban and its implications:
- Catherine Rampell in syndicated Washington Post column, “On Immigration, Why is Biden Resurrecting Trump Policies?” writes: “Unlike his predecessor, Biden bears no obvious animus toward immigrants … Whatever the president’s personal feelings toward immigrants, again and again his administration has let his immigration policy be guided by political optics and fears of attacks from Republicans and Fox News.”
- Felipe De La Hoz in The New Republic, “Biden Has Fully Embraced Trump’s Asylum Policies,” notes, “This latest Biden policy is, in fact, just a rehash of a Stephen Miller special: specifically, the so-called transit ban issued in the summer of 2019. That it bears such an exact resemblance makes it easy to dismiss this most recent twist in the tail as more of the same … it’s an understandable reaction that misses one key point: It’s not Donald Trump and Stephen Miller laying down the law this time.”
- Michael Posner, NYU Professor and former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, writes a Forbes opinion piece, “Why The Biden Administration Needs To Preserve The Right To Asylum,” which states, “By taking this heavy-handed approach against asylum seekers, rather than making bolder efforts to reform the system, the administration will put some of the most vulnerable people on our planet in life-threatening danger.”
- Ilya Somin in his Reason column, “Biden’s New Trump-Lite Asylum Policy Proposal,” writes, “The Biden proposal has triggered anger from many in his own party … it might be invalidated in court, as was the similar policy adopted by Trump in 2019. In the meantime, the proposal highlights an ongoing tension in Biden’s immigration policy. This administration has made many improvements relative to its predecessor … [b]ut it has also sometimes perpetuated and extended cruel restrictionist policies, like Title 42, for what seem to be crass political calculations.”
Meanwhile, Newsweek’s Daniel Bush reports on the new immigration priorities blueprint released by The Immigration Hub and 39 groups (including America’s Voice) that charts an alternative vision for President Biden. Bush writes:
“Immigrant rights groups are pushing President Joe Biden to back an ambitious reform agenda ahead of the 2024 election, as pressure grows for Biden to shore up support with Latino voters who’ll play a critical role in his potential reelection campaign.
… Polls show immigration is a top concern for a majority of Latino voters, along with the economy, health care and other issues. That is especially true for younger voters who will help drive Latino turnout in 2024, said María Teresa Kumar, the founding president of Voto Latino, an advocacy group that signed onto the report coming out this week.
‘Everything he signs through executive orders may not hold up in court, but it’s the best tool he has to engage with the public,’ Kumar said. Prioritizing immigration reform ‘is the right thing to do for the American people but it’s also the politically smart strategy.’”
