Protect Asylum During the Pandemic!   

The Trump administration proposed an insidious new rule that would unlawfully ban individuals seeking asylum in the United States under the false pretense of limiting the spread of disease.

Take action now using the form on this page and submit a comment opposing this latest proposed rule.

Though the Trump administration has already weaponized public health during the pandemic, this rule would strip protection from countless asylum seekers for the foreseeable future, far beyond COVID-19.

Protecting asylum seekers and protecting public health are not mutually exclusive. This rule would have devastating consequences for asylum seekers during this pandemic and would allow officials to bar asylum to groups of migrants in the future.

By law the Trump administration is required to accept comments from the public about regulations before they go into effect but the deadline is rapidly approaching. We only have until August 10th to express our outrage at these rules and send the Trump administration a resounding message that immigrants are welcome here. 

Our asylum laws are intended to protect to human rights, not implement the harmful policies of this administration. It is clear that these proposed regulations are not an attempt to keep people in the United States safe, but rather a reckless scheme to keep people seeking safety out. 

Take action now and submit your comment to stop the proposed rule and protect asylum seekers! Complete the form on this page with your info and reference the sample comment below to help you with your comment.

Below is a sample comment that you can modify with your own personal opinion and experiences. The government only reviews and counts unique comments, so DO NOT just copy and paste the sample comment. Modify the text and add your own voice to reflect your own professional expertise and personal experiences, or those of people you know, and explain why you believe the United States must offer protection to those fleeing persecution.

Sample comment:

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed rule Docket No: USCIS 2020-0013, A.G. Order No. 4747-2020, which is a devastating and unjust attack on asylum seekers that lacks any real public health rationale.

I believe that the United States should welcome asylum seekers and immigrants because [choose one or more: our laws require it / international laws and human rights norms require it / you or someone you know has/had a communicable disease yet deserves safety / you or your family sought asylum / other reasons unique to you]. Asylum seekers are not a threat to public safety. Rather, they are people who have made the incredibly difficult yet brave decision to leave behind their homes in search of safety. 

[Explain why you believe it is important that the United States provide a safe haven for asylum seekers fleeing harm, including your own experiences with asylum seekers or asylees who have personally impacted your life.]

This rule would roll back due process rights and cause undue harm to individuals who need protection. Hundreds of public health experts around the country have made it clear that turning away asylum seekers in a public health emergency would not mitigate the spread of disease. Instead of implementing a policy based on false rationales and xenophobic tropes of immigrants as carriers of disease, the United States should follow policy guided by public health experts and rooted in compassion. I urge the government to immediately withdraw its current proposal and instead focus on implementing procedures that would actually protect both the health of those seeking refuge in the United States and those already residing within. 

[Explain why it is fundamentally unfair to fault asylum seekers for being from OR traveling through countries that struggle to contain disease, especially as this pandemic has revealed the deadly failures of governments across the world to stop infections.]

Asylum seekers are seeking protection because of persecution; it is not their fault that their country or the countries they transit through fail to contain prevalent illnesses. Labeling asylum seekers a “danger to the security” of the U.S. does not just trample our legal obligations; it also dehumanizes and vilifies those seeking refuge.

[Insert here why you believe excluding asylum seekers who exhibit symptoms of illness is also unfair and unjust, especially as asylum seekers engage in perilous journeys to find safety. Treatment and isolation may be warranted in some circumstances, under guidance of public health experts, but not outright deportation right back to their persecutors.]

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice should immediately withdraw their current proposal, and instead dedicate their efforts to ensuring that individuals fleeing violence are granted full and fair access to asylum protections in the United States.
 
Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on the Proposed Rules. 

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