White House rule would require asylum seekers to seek protection in 3rd country
Groups that advocate on behalf of LGBTQ and intersex immigrants have sharply criticized the Biden-Harris administration over its plans to prohibit people from asking for asylum at the Southern border if they don’t seek protection in a country through which they passed. “The proposed rule would encourage migrants to avail themselves of lawful, safe and orderly pathways into the United States, or otherwise to seek asylum or other protection in countries through which they travel, thereby reducing reliance on human smuggling networks that exploit migrants for financial gain,” reads the proposed rule the White House announced on Tuesday. “It would do so by introducing a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility for certain noncitizens who neither avail themselves of a lawful, safe and orderly pathway to the United States nor seek asylum or other protection in a country through which they travel.” The Associated Press notes the proposed rule must go through a 30-day public comment period before it can take effect.
The regulation would remain in place for two years if the administration implements it. “The president’s proposed rule will deny asylum to thousands of otherwise eligible refugees, many of whom will be LGBTQ people,” said Immigration Equality Executive Director Aaron C.
Morris in a press release his organization released on Wednesday. “The rule puts into place impossible hurdles that people fleeing persecution will never be able to overcome.
Additionally, a requirement that LGBTQ people apply for asylum in other countries before coming to the U.S. is misguided and blatantly contrary to federal law.
