WASHINGTON, DC – A federal appeals court is bringing the Remain in Mexico/Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) to a grinding halt, at least for the time being. This is great news. Now, Congress must ensure that MPP cannot resume, by blocking the administration’s dismantling of the U.S. asylum system that is supposed to protect individuals fleeing violence and persecution. As communities of faith, Interfaith Immigration Coalition members urge Congress to restore asylum protections and pass the Refugee Protection Act. We need to reinvigorate our commitment to welcoming the sojourner and reestablish America’s place as a beacon of hope in the world.
Across the United States, people of faith are raising their voices against MPP and other dangerous policies as part of the #Faith4Asylum campaign. Read more about the campaign and join us by signing our people’s pledge here: www.faith4asylum.com.
“We applaud the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to halt the Orwellian-esque ‘Migrant Protection Protocols,’ said Faith Williams, Associate Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at the National Council of Jewish Women, and co-chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. “The United States has abdicated its duty to shelter asylum seekers through this and other harmful programs, and as a Jewish American, it’s a betrayal of both our values as a nation and our values as people of faith.”
“AFSC welcomes the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to block this inhumane and dangerous policy,” said Kristin Kumpf, Director of Human Migration and Mobility for the American Friends Service Committee. “This policy is a clear effort by the Trump Administration to stop people from exercising their right to seek asylum. We have a responsibility to welcome those fleeing persecution with open arms under the Constitution and international agreements.”
“Columbans welcome the ruling of the 9th Circuit of Appeals in California, ordering the Trump administration to end its illegal practice of forcing asylum seekers back to dangerous conditions in Mexico while they await their asylum proceedings,” said Scott Wright, Director of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach. “This policy not only contradicts U.S. and international refugee law, it directly violates the most fundamental moral principles of our faith: to protect the lives of vulnerable people. As direct witnesses, through our border ministries, to the enormous human suffering caused by the current administration’s gutting of the asylum system, Columbans call for the full restoration of all protections to asylum-seekers. While today’s ruling is a victory for refugee families, we must make sure that ‘Remain in Mexico’ is permanently ended.”
“The Leadership Conference of Women Religious applauds the ruling of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which will block the further implementation of the Trump Administration’s policy that has endangered thousands of asylum seekers required to wait in Mexico while their claims are reviewed,” said Ann Scholz, SSND, Associate Director for Social Mission of the LCWR. “We are called by our faith to welcome the stranger and care for the most vulnerable, and we are challenged by our national values to offer protection to those fleeing violence and persecution. The Trump administration’s attack on asylum violates that faith and threatens those values.”
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service, said: “Today’s decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will save lives. The Trump administration’s decision to illegally force asylum seekers to return to unsafe conditions in Mexico flew in the face of the fundamental human right to seek safety. Because of the administration’s misguided policy, thousands faced kidnappings, assault, robbery, rape, and in some cases even murder, all in sight of our doorstep. It is past time for this administration to stop demonizing and endangering people seeking protection, and return to the asylum system we know works and saves lives. We urge Congress to block the administration’s continued dismantling of the U.S. asylum system and pass the Refugee Protection Act, H.R.5210 and S.2936, which would restore and strengthen asylum protections.”
“Today’s injunction from the 9th circuit is a much-needed check on a policy that has already thrown thousands of people into harm’s way, placing their lives and safety at risk,” said Mike Givens, Associate Director of Strategic Communications at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. “The so-called MPP is a flagrant violation of our nation’s human rights commitments, and in the year since it went into effect, it has already resulted in the death, persecution and torture of hundreds of our siblings, if not more. An injunction on such a policy is more than warranted while courts reach a final ruling on the legal merits. We urge the Supreme Court to leave this injunction in effect and pray that moral wisdom and truth will prevail in finally bringing this abhorrent policy to an end.”
“We welcome the court’s decision to halt the Remain in Mexico policy,” said Lawrence E. Couch, Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “We now focus, during this time of Lent, on how we can ease the discrimination and suffering of families and individuals who have journeyed far and been treated so poorly by our government.”
“We are thrilled to receive the news coming from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocking the Trump administration from enforcing its policy of having asylum-seekers stay in Mexico as they await their immigrations hearings,” said Trinidad Ariztia, Director for Policy Migration at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “This policy delivered children, their families, and other vulnerable individuals, like LGBTQIA+ people, to areas plagued by violence, where they are stranded in often inhumane and horrific conditions, and their human rights are violated because of their race, gender, sexuality, nationality, and status as migrants. I am glad that the cry for justice towards our sister and brother migrants resonates at the state level, and can’t be constrained on ‘the other side’ of the border, because the moral responsibility to hear them lies, at the end, with us.”
Stephen Schneck, Executive Director of Franciscan Action Network, added: “Until recently, the U.S. was seen as a beacon of hope for people seeking safety from violence, death threats, and persecution in their own countries, but this administration cruelly shreds our asylum policy. Rather than honor their right to due process and having their cases heard, thousands of asylum seekers from Central America are turned back to Mexico where women and children are especially vulnerable to kidnapping, gang recruitment, and sexual or physical abuse. This is not the kind of country that our faith and U.S. American values challenge us to be. We Franciscans are ashamed of and angered by the Remain in Mexico policy.”
Rev. Noel Andersen of the United Church of Christ National Collaborative on Immigration commented: “The United Church of Christ celebrates this court victory to block the inhumane and discriminatory ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy from this administration that violates our own laws by keeping asylum seekers with credible fear from being able to present themselves. Our faith calls us to love our neighbor and to welcome asylum seekers. Hundreds of UCC congregations throughout the country are living out their faith by accompanying asylum seekers and we will continue to do so. This injunction will allow people who have been put in harm’s way, waiting for months in perilous conditions, to be able to finally have an opportunity they deserve to apply for asylum.”
Fast Facts on Asylum and MPP
U.S. POLICIES DANGEROUSLY AND ILLEGALLY RESTRICT ACCESS TO ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES.
- “In the almost three years since President Donald Trump took office, the US asylum system has almost become unrecognizable. The administration has built up, layer by layer, a series of impediments in Central America, at the border, in detention centers, and in the immigration courts that have made obtaining asylum nearly impossible.” (Source: Vox, November 2019)
- The asylum denial rate is growing. In recent years, 58% of asylum applications have been denied. In FY 2019, that number jumped to 69%. For individuals from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, the denial rate is 81%. (Source: TRAC, February 2020)
- At least 138 people deported to El Salvador were murdered and more than 70 were sexually abused, tortured, or disappeared. (Source: NBC News/Human Rights Watch, February 2020)
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN FORCING ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO REMAIN IN MEXICO AND RISKS THEIR LIVES.
- Since the creation of the “Remain in Mexico” policy in January 2019, more than 57,000 people have been forced to wait in Mexico for asylum hearings in the United States. (Source: Human Rights First, January 2020)
- At least 816 asylum-seekers have been raped, kidnapped, assaulted, and even murdered in Mexico, including 201 children. (Source: Human Rights First, January 2020)
- Only 4% of individuals subjected to Remain Mexico have lawyers. Less than 1% have won their cases. (Source: NPR, December 2019).
- American Friends Service Committee writes: “Initially the MPP was only applied to single adults from Central America, but was quickly expanded to also include families regardless of their basis for seeking protection.” (Source: AFSC, January 2020)
- Many are homeless or living in unsanitary conditions. Organizations along the border are working tirelessly, with no government support, to try to meet their basic human needs.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS RECENTLY BEGUN DEPORTING ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GUATEMALA AND FORCING THEM TO APPLY FOR PROTECTION THERE.
- This is part of a new Trump administration policy to require people to apply for asylum in countries of transit, before requesting protection from the United States. It is absurd on its face, because Guatemala itself is sending thousands of asylum-seekers to the United States. (Source: Texas Public Radio, February 2020)
For more, see these infographics from Latin America Working Group.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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