Trump ‘Bans’ Asylum-Seekers From Crossing Over To United States
The United States embarked Friday on a policy of automatically rejecting asylum claims of people who cross the Mexican border illegally in a bid to deter Central American migrants and force Mexico to handle them.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at halting the flow of migrants seeking to cross into the United States without authorization, most of them requesting asylum due to violence in their home countries.
“The continuing and threatened mass migration of aliens with no basis for admission into the United States through our southern border has precipitated a crisis and undermines the integrity of our borders,” Trump said in the order.
Trump used his emergency powers for the order, which critics said violates international law protecting asylum seekers.
UNHCR, the UN human rights body, criticized Washington for not meeting obligations to help refugees.
“UNHCR expects all countries, including the United States, to make sure any person in need of refugee protection and humanitarian assistance is able to receive both promptly and without obstruction,” it said.
The Geneva-based agency said that the United States was forcing migrants to turn to human smugglers to cross borders illegally.
“Many asylum-seeking families making this desperate choice are not trying to evade border authorities,” they said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Center for Constitutional Rights together immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the order.
“Ever since the horrors of World War II, the world’s nations have committed to giving asylum seekers the opportunity to seek safe haven. The Trump administration cannot defy this most elementary humanitarian principle,” said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
AFP
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