Washington.
Attorneys General of 21 states and the District of Columbia today denounced a rule by President Donald Trump that should come into force on Jan. 11 and that officials say represents the “death of asylum.” and will lead to the deportation of people who have requested it with valid reasons.
In early 2019 the Trump administration began returning to Mexico tens of thousands of people who had arrived at the border seeking asylum, and this month completed protocols for the implementation of similar agreements with Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
Advocates for migrants, humanitarian and religious groups have noted that this policy forces men, women and children fleeing violence in their countries to wait in dangerous and precarious conditions for the processing of their applications.
The rule that 22 state attorneys general protested against today, in court documents, adds requirements and leaves the decision to grant or deny asylum to the discretion of immigration officials.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement that “ignoring those fleeing violence and persecution is not only illegal but would violate the fundamental values of our nation.”
“The country we believe in is a place of hope and possibility,” Becerra added, to whom the president-elect Joe Biden has been appointed as Secretary of Health. “No one wins when President Trump tries to sweep people under the rug and calls for a solution.”
According to Attorneys General, the new rule “undermines the commitment” of country and states to be a “safe place for asylum seekers fleeing persecution by disrupting the current asylum system and increasing the separation of asylum seekers.” families “.
The measure, they added, hurts the economies of states and their labor forces by depriving them of essential workers and their contribution to economic activity.
The documents were presented to the Northern California Federal District Court, Where two lawsuits are filed against the Department of Homeland Security on which there will be a hearing on Jan. 7.
The attorneys general included in this filing are those of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.