Overview:
President Joe Biden signed a new executive order limiting the number of people crossing the US-Mexico border daily to seek asylum. His action has triggered concern from advocates for Haitian and human rights, and some understanding in a hot political year.
NEW YORK—Immigrant advocates said they are worried a new U.S. policy limiting the number of people allowed to seek asylum at the US-Mexico border daily will hurt vulnerable people, including many Haitians. But others in the community say U.S. President Joe Biden has few choices left politically as border crossings emerge as a major election issue.
The mixed reactions came as Biden announced Tuesday that he had signed an executive order limiting daily unauthorized crossings “to a level that our system can effectively manage.” Various reports have put that figure at 1,500 daily crossings, down from the current average of 2,500 daily border encounters.
“President Biden’s executive order is a direct assault on the fundamental human right to seek asylum,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “It is unconscionable to turn our backs on people in their greatest moment of need. President Biden must keep his commitment to restore America’s soul.”
Biden said he has no choice but to issue the order because Congress has not passed legislation that would secure the border, among other provisions. He blamed Republican members and Donald Trump, his opponent in the upcoming elections, who told his party not to support the bill.
But like many critics, Jozef said the move is akin to the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy that will leave vulnerable families, children and those fleeing violence and persecution without protection and refuge. Some Haitian community members also worry that this action may be a precursor to additional immigration restrictions coming this election year. Under the Biden Administration, thousands of Haitians have benefited from the renewal and extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and at least 112,000 Haitians entered the country in 2023 through the humanitarian parole process.
Volunteers inside the NACC Receiving Center in Houston, on Sept. 25. Photo by Leonardo March
“They’re worried about everything. These are very scary times for our migrants,” said Elsie Saint Louis executive director and CEO of Haitian Americans United for Progress (HAUP), which has been serving immigrants for 46 years.
“On its face, I’m very concerned about someone with a credible fear not being able to show up to the border and request asylum,” said Gepsie Metellus, executive director of Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center in North Miami. “I get what the president is trying to do, but it’s the wrong move.
In Houston, musician and entrepreneur Stephane Alce sympathized with the need for the order and critiqued the U.S. as a whole for historic policies that have led to mass immigration and problems at the border.
“I can tell how this order would harm Haitians trying to escape an unbearable situation, but I also get the protection that needs to be placed on U.S. soil to prevent over-trafficking across the border,” said Alce, better known as @jemthehaitian on social media.
“Yes, I can understand that the United States has to do what the United States has to do, but I don’t agree with the reasons that we [Haitians] have to leave Haiti to escape to the U.S.,” Alce said. “It’s like me leaving my home to go to my abuser’s home.”
Uncertainty, ‘lesser evil’ conjured
Tens of thousands of Haitians have passed through Mexico en route to the U.S. In 2021 alone, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 camped under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, to request asylum. Many had spent years living in Brazil and Chile and were unable to return to Haiti as conditions there worsened.
Advocates say limiting asylum seekers will disproportionately affect those fleeing from countries like Haiti with high levels of violence and instability. Still, even as organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union prepare to challenge Biden in court, some in the Haitian community say his order is likely less restrictive than any rule Trump might impose if re-elected.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘Let’s look at the forest and not the trees,’ ‘let’s look at the stakes here for the country, for Democratic values, for the rule of law,” Metellus said. “Congressional inaction shows us how desperately we need reform.”
Saint Louis expressed a sense of uncertainty overall that community members have expressed in conversations and community forums.
“We don’t know where we stand in this country anymore,” Saint Louis said. “Biden’s only role to me is to be a deterrent so we don’t have Trump, until we figure out what we’re doing [on immigration].”
Another community activist, speaking on condition of anonymity to not jeopardize her organization’s public views, said many feel Biden had no choice and neither does the community to support him.
“Unofficially, he [Biden] continues to be the lesser of two evils,” the activist said. “He has to do this for political expediency, for his political survival,” the activist said. “If Trump gets in, it’ll be even worse. We don’t need another Trump term.”
Plus, she added, “It’s not like the border is closing off. He’s basically saying come back the next day.”
Border ban details
In his remarks Tuesday, Biden reprimanded Congress for failing to pass a bipartisan immigration bill meant to transform the immigration system. He urged Congress to pass the bill, whose provisions include funding for 1,500 more border security agents, 100 more immigration judges to alleviate the 2 million case backlog, 4,300 more asylum officers to address claims, and 100 more machines to curb fentanyl smuggling.
The president also reiterated that asylum will still be available to those who seek it, unless they arrive unlawfully. He said the ban would remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that “our system can effectively manage.”
The President also detailed other actions in the works to decide asylum as quickly as possible, including:
A Department of Justice effort in the immigration courts to make a decision within six months.
A Department of Homeland Security proposal that would allow federal law enforcement to more quickly deport asylum seekers with criminal convictions.
Going after human traffickers, including by incentivizing people to tip off law enforcement.
Sending more federal prosecutors to hot spots along the border and prosecuting law breakers.
Working closely with Mexico, “instead of attacking Mexico,” to reduce unlawful crossings.
Related
Source link : https://haitiantimes.com/2024/06/06/biden-migration-border-ban-concerns-haitians/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-06-06 08:42:17
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.