The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) of the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco has released two complementary documents on the Biden administration's proposed policies on asylum and related immigration issues. On April 27, it also published a press release responding to the Biden administration's announcement of new migration measures.
1. Far from Safety: Dangers and Limits to Protection for Asylum Seekers Transiting through Latin America
This new report presents an overview of the legal and policy context for the administration’s proposed “asylum ban” and highlights the inability of nine common transit countries – Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador – to provide protection to asylum seekers. Additionally, it offers recommendations to the U.S. government grounded in our legal and moral obligations to refugees. It is an advocacy document of 33 pages. Felipe Navarro, the primary author, is Manager of Regional Initiatives for CGRS, and a contributor to Americas Program.
Landing page: https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/our-work/publications/far-safety-dangers-and-limits-protection-asylum-seekers-transiting-through
Download PDF: https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/sites/default/files/Transit%20Countries%20Report_4.21.23_FINAL.pdf
2. Re: Request for Comments: Circumvention of Lawful Pathways, 88 Fed. Reg. 11704
(February 23, 2023)
is a comment submitted by CGRS to DHS Docket No. USCIS-2022-0016, a proposed rule published by the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Justice. "Circumvention of Lawful Pathways" details the Biden administration's proposed policy changes to asylum and related regulations, some of which CGRS asserts would amount to an 'asylum ban'. The comment, an 88 page document, is a legal analysis of the proposed rule.
Download PDF and attachments: https://www.regulations.gov/comment/USCIS-2022-0016-12612
3. Biden Administration Doubles Down on Anti-Asylum Policies
"Today the Biden administration announced far-reaching new measures to address migration in the Western Hemisphere. The government’s plans couple limited “legal” pathways to migrate to the United States with an escalation of draconian policies that will shut the door to people seeking safety. Its approach is premised on the imminent implementation of the Biden administration’s proposed asylum ban, which has been vehemently opposed by the UN Refugee Agency, congressional leaders, U.S. asylum officers, and tens of thousands of advocates, allies, and community members. Taken together, these measures will inevitably result in mass deportations of refugees to countries where they face persecution and torture. ..."
Press release: https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/news/biden-administration-doubles-down-anti-asylum-policies