(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Immigrant rights groups warn they'll sue again if Biden tries to resurrect Trump's transit ban [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-21 “If the proposed asylum ban rule does what we expect it to do—unlawfully deprive access to asylum based on manner of entry and/or transit route, it would be invalid like the similar Trump administration rules that were found unlawful by federal courts,” Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, told NBC News. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has continued to deny that the Biden administration’s plan is similar to what the Trump administration attempted to implement. CBS News reported that during a meeting last month, Democratic lawmakers “pressed Mayorkas on how the proposed rule was different from a Trump administration regulation known as the ‘transit ban,’” and “how that proposal squared with Mr. Biden's condemnation during the 2020 campaign trail of the Trump administration's efforts to restrict asylum eligibility.” Since then, a coalition of nearly 80 lawmakers urged the Biden administration to reverse course on the transit ban reimplementation, as well the unnecessary expansion of the debunked Title 42 policy. While it’s true that court orders have mandated that Title 42 remain in place for now, the Biden administration’s decision to expand the nationals who it affected was its own doing. “The courts rightly rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to categorically end asylum when he similarly required asylum seekers to seek asylum in transit countries,” bicameral lawmakers said last month. “Specifically, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Trump-Era Third Country Transit ban violated well-settled U.S. asylum laws that prohibit turning people away unless they have ‘firmly resettled’ in a transit country, especially not if conditions in the transit country are not safe.” “At the time of this ruling, countries across the Western Hemisphere were unable to meet such requirements,” they continued. “There does not appear to be evidence to show that country conditions in transit countries have improved since the relevant appellate decision was rendered as to justify a new Third Country Transit bar.” The letter is signed by progressive lawmakers including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pramila Jayapal, and Barbara Lee. Blowback over the proposed transit ban also came from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees agency. “Plans by the Biden administration to expand restrictions on people seeking refuge in the United States are ‘not in line with refugee law standards’, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday,” an agency release said. x NEW: DHS and DOJ are expected to announce a new asylum policy for the border today - targeting those who cross through 3rd countries on the way to the US border, per source. Will not take effect immediately. — Hamed Aleaziz (@Haleaziz) February 21, 2023 The Los Angeles Times reports the rule will likely be announced today. “No surprise here—Biden admin has said they would be doing this soon,” tweeted The Los Angeles Times immigration reporter Hamed Aleaziz. “Advocates, however, will be critical of this effort and lawsuits are possible.” The Biden administration’s decision to expand the humanitarian parole process to tens of thousands of Cuban, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan, and Haitian migrants per month has been positively received. But because migrants must apply for a U.S. sponsor and fly themselves to the U.S., it does exclude many vulnerable people who have no such means. Lawmakers wrote that when Congress established the nation’s asylum laws, it made no such requirements being proposed today. “In your announcement of the parole program, you acknowledged that seeking asylum is a human right and harkened back to the Jewish refugees arriving on our shores to seek safety from the horrors of Nazi persecution during the Holocaust,” lawmakers said. “We believe that your administration can and must continue to expand legal pathways for migrants and refugees into the United States—without further dismantling the right to seek asylum at our border.” “This right is a pillar of the post-war international order to which the United States has committed itself,” lawmakers continued. “We are ready to work with you to ensure that we can have a safe, humane, and orderly border that upholds the right to asylum.” RELATED STORIES: Democratic lawmakers, advocates widely condemn Biden admin proposal further restricting asylum Citing 'moral and legal responsibility,' lawmakers urge Biden admin to reconsider Title 42 expansion Testimony confirms Title 42 was never about public health, it was about deporting asylum-seekers [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/21/2154185/-Immigrant-rights-groups-warn-they-ll-again-sue-if-Biden-tries-to-resurrect-Trump-s-transit-ban Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/