Press Release
Published on October 13, 2023
WASHINGTON – Kidnappings and horrific violence against people waiting in Mexico to seek asylum under the Biden administration’s asylum ban are escalating, Human Rights First documented in its new report, Inhumane and Counterproductive: Asylum Ban Inflicts Mounting Harms. The report urges the Biden administration to end its temporary policy, which has been ruled unlawful.
“Forcing people fleeing persecution and violence to remain in Mexico in inhumane conditions for months, struggling to secure a CBP One appointment while they are targets of kidnappings and abuses is unlawful and immoral. No one is spared this horrific harm – pregnant women and families with infants have been preyed upon with reports of torture and sexual violence inflicted against those kidnapped. The asylum ban subverts refugee protection, inflicts trauma, and results in irreparable harm. It punishes refugees who seek protection at our border and returns them to persecution and danger regardless of their eligibility for asylum,” said . “The United States has a legal obligation to uphold refugee law and human rights and an opportunity to set a moral standard for the international community. The asylum ban tramples on refugees’ rights and, like past policies blocking asylum access, is inhumane and counterproductive.”
The report urges the Biden administration to reject policies that punish, ban, and block people seeking asylum, contrary to core tenets of international refugee protection, and strengthen the effective, humane, and legal policies it has already initiated or announced. Human Rights First’s updated recommendations to the administration can be found here.
The report’s findings include:
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the District Court in the District of Columbia are expected to issue rulings on the asylum ban.
