The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship opposes the Biden Administration’s proposed rule change that would make asylum claims much more difficult for certain asylum seekers. The proposed change would take effect when the CDC’s Title 42 Public Health Order related to Covid ends.
The new rules, which could take effect as early as mid-May, only apply to asylum seekers attempting to enter the U.S. along the U.S.-Mexico border, and thus target those coming from and through Central and South America. As a community dedicated to transforming cultures of domination that normalize racism, we adamantly oppose this blatant attack on a particular group of marginalized people.
We encourage friends of PPF to submit public comments stating your own opposition to this rule change.
Here are two ways to comment before March 27th when the public comment period closes.
1. Directly through the Federal Registry at this link.
2. Through an immigration justice comment portal at this link.
Not only does the proposed change violate the deepest values of the Peace Fellowship, but it also violates both international and U.S. law. Under the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 asylum seekers cannot be returned to states where their lives are threatened. Under the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980 asylum seekers cannot be turned away due to lack of immigration documentation.
The proposed rule change would violate both of those guarantees.
PPF has a long history of accompanying and supporting people seeking sanctuary from violence including along the southwest border. Welcoming the stranger, standing with the vulnerable, and providing sanctuary to those under threat of violence are central commitments of our faith. The proposed rule change violates those commitments and exposes the most vulnerable people to direct threats of violence.
We call on the Biden Administration to rescind this proposed rule change.
Relying on God’s grace, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship imagines a world of peace where all God’s creation can thrive. In local and global communities, we will use every nonviolent means to disrupt and transform the culture of domination that normalizes racism, ecocide, militarization, and war. We build peace through the abolition of structural violence and by living into alternatives to violence with creativity, intelligence, imagination, and love.
Resource Links:
Fact Sheet from Homeland Security