photo #6687564

Last week, the Biden administration issued the most stringent asylum ban during its tenure, authorizing the federal government to "block the border" when necessary. On the 12th, immigration rights groups filed the first lawsuit against the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which participated in the court, accused the executive order of being inconsistent with the law requiring the government to allow foreign refugees to apply for asylum. Biden encountered challenges just one week after signing an executive order to launch a new border policy. The ACLU and other immigration organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal court in Washington, D.C., and issued a statement criticizing the new measures for setting up a "blocking" mechanism to prevent illegal immigrants from seeking asylum in the United States, which violated current federal law. Lee Gelernt, an ACLU representative lawyer, said that the asylum regulations clearly state that foreign citizens must be able to seek asylum regardless of where they enter the country. Former President Trump used similar means to prevent immigrants from entering the country, but the measures at the time were rejected by the court. It can be seen that Biden's policy this time also lacks reasoning, and "there is no doubt" that administrative measures alone cannot achieve the goal. Gelernt also questioned that many restrictions in the executive order were too strict. For example, if entrants want to apply for an exemption, they must find a lawyer to assist within 4 hours. The institutions that jointly filed the lawsuit include the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. The number of illegal immigrants at the southern border continues to be high, which puts Biden under pressure before the election. Therefore, he issued an executive order earlier this month. Once the number of people crossing the border exceeds 2,500 per day, border law enforcement agencies can immediately "block the border" and no longer accept asylum applications. Illegal immigrants who are intercepted can be quickly deported within a few days or even hours. Since the number of people entering the country every day has reached about 4,000, the ban has taken effect immediately on June 5. The closure order also has a lifting condition. If the number of illegal immigrants is less than 1,500 for 7 consecutive days and the situation remains for two weeks, the government will accept asylum applications again, but this level has not been seen for many years. The last time was during the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020. The Biden administration insists that this measure has multiple exemptions, which is different from the immigration ban during the Trump era. Specifically, minors who enter alone, victims of human trafficking, and people who make appointments through the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) mobile app are not included in the fast deportation. In addition to immigration organizations, some Democratic lawmakers also questioned the new measures. Senator Alex Padilla said that the executive order cannot solve the crisis on the southern border. It will only cause people who could legally apply for asylum to be unable to enter safely and be harmed again, just like the ban during the Trump era.