Judd Legum writes:

The political impetus for Biden’s new policy is clear. Immigration is one of the top issues for voters, and is top of mind for many independents who will play a critical role in the upcoming presidential election. Moreover, polls consistently show voters prefer Trump’s hardline approach toward immigration policy. Unilaterally imposing severe restrictions on asylum seekers appears to be an effort to diffuse the issue politically.

But the political realities do not obviate the human and moral implications of the new restrictions. The Refugee Act of 1980, which passed Congress unanimously, gives migrants inside the United States the right to claim asylum based on “a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” It was enacted “in part to make amends for the country’s shameful refusal to accept Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.” The new policy announced by Biden abandons this principle for the foreseeable future.

As the ACLU’s Lee Gelernt explained earlier this year, migrants with legitimate fears of persecution often have no choice but to cross outside of a port of entry “because cartels push them to places [other than ports of entry] to cross” and “because the ports of entry can be hundreds of miles away.” Presenting yourself as an asylum seeker at a port of entry also requires making an appointment via a mobile app, and there are far more asylum seekers than appointments available.

In a statement released Tuesday, the ACLU alleges that, under Biden’s new policy, the federal government will “rush vulnerable people through already fast-tracked deportation proceedings, sending people in need of protection to their deaths.” [Continue reading…]