- Liberal activist groups, such as the ACLU and Human Rights First, aren’t happy with the Biden administration’s key border policies implemented to mitigate the flow of migrants after Title 42, the Trump-era expulsion policy, ended on May 11.
- These Biden border policies include an asylum restriction that disqualifies some illegal migrants from the country who didn’t first seek asylum protections in another country they passed through on the way to the U.S., and a phone app used to make entry appointments at the U.S. border with Mexico.
- “If the rule gets stopped, it will just encourage more to make the journey, it will allow smugglers to continue the human exploitation, more people will overwhelm our agents, our ports and local resources. Immigration advocates have also heavily scrutinized the Biden administration’s use of CBP One, an app where migrants can schedule appointments for entry to begin asylum proceedings in the U.S.,” Chris Clem, former chief patrol agent for the Yuma sector in Arizona, told the DCNF about the implications of an ACLU lawsuit against the Biden administration’s asylum rule.
Liberal activist groups are at odds with the Biden administration over its key border policies implemented to stem the flow of migrants at the southern border, with the ACLU and other groups filing a lawsuit against the administration’s asylum rule in May.
Ahead of an expected surge of migrants following the expiration of Title 42 on May 11, the Biden administration instituted a series of policies to quell any potential influx. However, some of those policies are being threatened by several left-leaning groups that say they’re too restrictive, leading to a major legal challenge in one case. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: ICE Met Behind Closed Doors With An ‘Abolish ICE’ Activist. Here’s What They Talked About)
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The ACLU sued the Biden administration on May 11 over what the group characterized as an “asylum ban” that bars migrants who cross illegally into the country that didn’t first seek asylum in another country on their way to the U.S. The group has likened the policy to a similar action previously made under the Trump administration.
Also joining the lawsuit were East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, American Gateways, Central American Resource Center, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Tahirih Justice Center.
“The Biden administration’s new ban places vulnerable asylum seekers in grave danger and violates U.S. asylum laws. We’ve been down this road before with Trump,” Katrina Eiland, managing attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, said of the lawsuit at the time. “The asylum bans were cruel and illegal then, and nothing has changed now.”
Illegal migrant encounters at the southern border have averaged 3,400 per day since May 12, which is a 70% drop compared to the number of encounters before Title 42 ended, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
The Department of Homeland Security says that illegal encounters at the southern border have averaged 3,400 per day since May 12.
Former acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan believes that if the ACLU wins its case, it will actually help Republican states that want to derail a signature Biden administration border initiative, known as CBP One, which uses a phone app designed for migrants to schedule entry appointments at southern border ports of entry.
“Let’s say they win and so they knock down the rule, all that’s going to do is that’s going to help the lawsuits from multiple conservative states’ governors about the CBP One app. I think that’s actually going to provide more ammunition on that side,” Morgan said.
“So then if the ACLU wins and they have to knock down the transit rule and then it helps the conservative side, their lawsuit, then we’re right back to where we were where everyone’s just going to be entering in between the ports of entry,” Morgan said.
Former Chief Patrol Agent for the Yuma sector in Arizona Chris Clem believes a win for the ACLU would mean chaos would ensue at the southern border, he told the DCNF. “When this was fully in place previously, it reduced illegal traffic as notice was clear you can’t do it this way. This freed up our agents to focus on their national security mission,” Clem said.
“If the rule gets stopped, it will just encourage more to make the journey, it will allow smugglers to continue the human exploitation, more people will overwhelm our agents, our ports and local resources. Immigration advocates have also heavily scrutinized the Biden administration’s use of CBP One, an app where migrants can schedule appointments for entry to begin asylum proceedings in the U.S.,” Clem said.
Human Rights First Senior Director of Refugee Protection Eleanor Acer testified to the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday about her organization’s concerns with the CBP One process. “One of our concerns about the CBP One app is that it could be actually used to meter or limit the number of asylum seekers allowed to legally request asylum,” said Acer. Human Rights First is funded by left-wing megadonor George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.
Kino Border Initiative Advocacy Coordinator Zoe Martens recently criticized the Biden administration’s use of the app. Martens took issue with its limited access to appointments, leading to some migrants staying in Mexico where they fear for their safety, in a statement to Politico.
“It’s kind of this impossible decision,” Martens said.
Immigration advocacy organization Mobile Pathways’ Program Director Ana Ortega-Villegas described the situation for migrants attempting to use CBP One as a “cruel reality,” as they’re stuck in Mexico, she wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
I spent my day w @christielaine23 from @humanrights1st documenting the cruel reality of asylum seekers stuck in Cd. Juarez. All people I met have been unable to secure and appt via CBPOne app. Access to a phone, wifi & charging station are now daily challenges to reaching safety. pic.twitter.com/82jKRiL20Y
— Ana Ortega-Villegas (@AnaOrtega88) June 14, 2023
The Biden administration, however, says the program is part of its effort to keep migrants “safe.” It has been recently expanded to allow roughly 40,000 migrants into the U.S. each month.
“Our efforts within the constraints of our broken immigration system are focused on ensuring that the process is safe, orderly, and humane, all while protecting our dedicated workforce and our communities,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on May 11.
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