House Republicans put forth an immigration package Monday which proposes some of the harshest restrictions on migration through the southern border, virtually ending the right to asylum for anyone not crossing through legal ports of entry. Though Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has put forth a set of recommendations on immigration, as yet there’s no competing legislation to help manage an expected influx of migrants through the southern border this spring and summer.
The GOP’s extreme border package — which includes an effort to impeach Department of Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas — is unlikely to gain enough votes to pass with the Republicans’s slim majority, but time is running out to pass comprehensive immigration legislation before the Covid-era Title 42 order is set to expire May 11. That order allows the government to deport migrants for public health reasons, without giving them the opportunity to apply for asylum.
The end of Title 42 likely portends a fresh wave of migrants coming to the US border to apply for asylum protections — an event for which the system has long been ill-equipped. But instead of providing resources to speed up asylum hearings, for example, perhaps the most alarming aspect of the Republicans’ legislation is that it targets the ability to even seek asylum, which is affirmed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The US, as a signatory to the declaration, has an obligation to uphold its principles, but the UDHR is not a legally binding document.
Previous legislation, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), set out similarly harsh policies; his bill would allow the DHS head to stop all border crossings of undocumented people through any point of entry so DHS could maintain “operational control” of the border. That legislation, first introduced in January, proved shocking even to some within Roy’s party, including Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas.
“Trying to ban legitimate asylum claims — one, it’s…
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