ImmDef Calls Upon the Biden Administration to Take Immediate Action for Asylum Seekers and Detainees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Media Contact: Renee Garcia, rgarcia@immdef.org; 213-634-7615

Immigrant Defenders Law Center Calls Upon the Biden Administration to Take Immediate Action for Asylum Seekers and Detainees

Los Angeles, CA. (February 3, 2021) Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) calls upon President Biden and his Administration to take swift and decisive action to address the urgent humanitarian crisis faced by thousands of asylum seekers and detainees. While President Biden’s February 2nd Executive Orders are a welcomed first step toward dismantling our country’s oppressive and xenophobic immigration policies, they fall short. These orders do nothing to end the trauma and violence that continues in this moment because of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). They do nothing to end immigration detention nor stop ICE from unlawfully deporting immigrants and tearing families apart. These ruthless and inhumane practices must end today.

Every moment spent studying Trump’s policies is a missed opportunity to save an asylum seeker’s life or keep a family together. The day President Biden signed these executive orders, ICE deported Haitian and Cameroonian migrants on flights back into life-threatening danger, CBP agents expelled asylum seekers at the U.S./Mexico border, and tens of thousands of people affected by MPP remained trapped in Northern Mexico.

As an organization that witnesses firsthand the life and death consequences of policy decisions, we demand the following steps are taken without delay:

1. Immediately end expulsions by rescinding Title 42, and resume safe processing of asylum seekers at the Southern border,

2. Immediately announce a fair and transparent process to allow entry for all people who have been impacted by MPP, including those ordered deported through this illegitimate process,

3. Commit to ending immigration detention and guarantee that no asylum seekers will be subjected to physical or digital shackles.

4. Immediately halt all ICE deportation flights and stay final orders of removal, and

5. Take immediate steps to protect the safety and rights of Black migrants who have been trapped at the U.S./Mexico border and denied access to the asylum system.

ImmDef’s guiding principle is that no immigrant stands alone. We will continue to hold the government accountable until all immigrant communities are welcomed with dignity.

(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall promptly review and determine whether to terminate or modify the program known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), including by considering whether to rescind the Memorandum of the Secretary of Homeland Security titled "Policy Guidance for implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols" (January 20, 2019), and any implementing guidance. In coordination with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Director of CDC, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall promptly consider a phased strategy for the safe and orderly entry into the United States, consistent with public health and safety and capacity constraints, of those individuals who have been subjected to MPP for further processing of their asylum claims. - Excerpt from Biden's Executive Order

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Mientras las órdenes ejecutivas del 2 de febrero del presidente Biden reflejan un paso adecuado hacia el desmantelamiento de las políticas de inmigración opresivas y xenófobas de nuestro país, se quedan cortas. Exigimos que se tomen las siguientes medidas sin demora: 1. Rescindir el Título 42, poner un fin inmediato a las deportaciones, y reanudar el procesamiento seguro de los solicitantes de asilo en la frontera sur. 2. Declarar de inmediato un proceso justo y transparente para permitir la entrada de todas las personas que han sido afectadas por el MPP, incluyendo a las que fueron deportadas a través de este proceso ilegítimo. 3. Hacer un compromiso de poner fin a la detención de inmigrantes y garantizar que ningún solicitante de asilo sea sometido a cadenas físicas o digitales. 4. Detener de inmediato todos los vuelos de deportación de ICE y suspender las órdenes finales de expulsión, y 5. Tomar medidas inmediatas para proteger la seguridad y los derechos de los migrantes negros a los quienes se les ha negado el acceso al sistema de asilo y que han quedado atrapados en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México.

"El Ministro de la Seguridad Nacional deberá revisar rápidamente y determinar si se debe terminar o modificar el programa conocido como Protocolos de Proteccion a Migrantes (MPP), incluyendo la consideración de rescindir el memorándum del Ministro de Seguridad Nacional titulado “Orientación Política sobre la Implementación de Protocolos de Protección a Migrantes” (Enero 25, 2019), y cualquier otra dirección sobre su implementación. En coordinación con el Ministro del Estado, Procurador General, y Director del CDC, el Ministro de la Seguridad Nacional deberá considerar de inmediato una estrategia en fases para el proceso de entrada a los Estados Unidos de manera ordenada y segura, coherente con las limitaciones de salud pública, seguridad y capacidad, para esos individuos que han sido sometidos al programa MPP para que puedan seguir sus procesos de asilo. " - Extracto de la orden ejecutiva de Biden