Nancy Pelosi furious over Trump’s “cruel, illegal asylum restrictions”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump Administration announced new restrictions on illegal aliens traveling to the Southern border of the United States, and liberal Senator Nancy Pelosi is furious over the policy.

It was announced yesterday that the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are revising federal law to add a new bar to eligibility for asylum for an alien who enters or attempts to enter the United States across the southern border, but who did not apply for protection from persecution or torture where it was available in at least one third country outside the alien’s country of citizenship, nationality, or last lawful habitual residence through which he or she transited en route to the United States.

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

“This Rule is a lawful exercise of authority provided by Congress to restrict eligibility for asylum. The United States is a generous country but is being completely overwhelmed by the burdens associated with apprehending and processing hundreds of thousands of aliens along the southern border. This Rule will decrease forum shopping by economic migrants and those who seek to exploit our asylum system to obtain entry to the United States—while ensuring that no one is removed from the United States who is more likely than not to be tortured or persecuted on account of a protected ground.”

The bar is subject to three limited exceptions, including:

(1) an alien who demonstrates that he or she applied for protection from persecution or torture in at least one of the countries through which the alien transited en route to the United States, and the alien received a final judgment denying the alien protection in such country;

(2) an alien who demonstrates that he or she satisfies the definition of “victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons” provided in 8 C.F.R. § 214.11; or,

(3) an alien who has transited en route to the United States through only a country or countries that were not parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol, or the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Asylum is a discretionary benefit offered by the United States Government to those fleeing persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

The United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of aliens encountered along or near the southern land border with Mexico. This increase corresponds with a sharp increase in the number, and percentage, of aliens claiming fear of persecution or torture when apprehended or encountered by DHS. The number of cases referred to DOJ for proceedings before an immigration judge has also risen exponentially, more than tripling between 2013 and 2018. These numbers are projected to continue to increase throughout the remainder of Fiscal Year 2019 and beyond.

Only a small minority of these individuals, however, are ultimately granted asylum. The large number of meritless asylum claims places an extraordinary strain on the nation’s immigration system, undermines many of the humanitarian purposes of asylum, has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis of human smuggling, and adversely impacts the United States’ ongoing diplomatic negotiations with foreign countries. This rule mitigates the strain on the country’s immigration system by more efficiently identifying aliens who are misusing the asylum system to enter and remain in the United States rather than legitimately seeking urgent protection from persecution or torture.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on the Trump Administration’s new asylum rule, which creates unprecedented and impossible hurdles for families seeking asylum and clearly violates the Immigration and Nationality Act:

“The President is devastating lives, dishonoring our values and departing from decades of precedent and law in his haste to destroy the lifeline of asylum in America. This cruel new asylum rule perfectly showcases the Administration’s utter disdain and disregard for immigrant communities and communities of color.

“This asylum rule is a clear abdication of American humanitarianism. Since Day One, the Administration has turned its back on generations of Republican and Democratic leadership, which has long recognized that the lifeline of asylum is central to our nation’s values, history and future. As the American Association of Evangelicals has testified, America’s commitment to opening our doors to those in need is the ‘crown jewel of American humanitarianism.’

“The Administration has clearly overreached their authority and violated the law with these restrictions, which will be swiftly and successfully challenged in the courts. The Democratic House will always stand firm against attacks on immigrants, and will continue to call on the White House to join us to support smart, effective immigration policies that honor our values and keep families together and safe.”