Circumvention of Lawful Pathways
Below is an excerpt from a public comment submitted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in regard to the regulation “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways” on June 15, 2023.
The U.S. used to be a country in which asylum-seeking was a human right, in accordance with its domestic laws, international treaty obligations, and fundamental morals. With the proposed “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways” rule, the Biden administration continues previous administrations’ efforts to restrict, delegitimize, and criminalize asylum-seeking. With this proposed rule migrants will have virtually no right to asylum if they have not sought protection in a transit country on their way to the U.S. Migrants who do not meet the criteria for existing parole programs, including the expansion to 30,000 individuals from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba per month, or who have not secured an appointment with the new CBP One app will also have almost no access to asylum.