AGs Fight Trump’s Bid to Undermine U.S.Asylum for Caribbean Immigrants
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of 19 attorneys general from around the United States has challenged the administration of President Donald Trump’s efforts to potentially undermine asylum protections for thousands of Caribbean and other immigrants.
In an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs in U.T. v. Barr, the coalition pushed back against an interim final rule in which it said the U.S. government is “effectively ignoring asylum claims by sending people - many of whom are fleeing violence and persecution - to third countries that have signed asylum cooperative agreements with the federal government.
“Not only does the rule harm asylum-seekers, but it deprives states of the valuable economic contributions made by immigrants - including asylees and asylum-seekers - who join workforces across the country, start entrepreneurial ventures, and pay millions of dollars in taxes each year,” the coalition noted in a statement.
NO COMPASSION
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the coalition fight, said “the president and his administration are once again showing their lack of compassion and humanity by endangering the safety of asylum-seekers fleeing for their lives.
“Instead of making it harder for immigrants to flee persecution, danger, and great peril, the administration should be welcoming these individuals, who provide extraordinary contributions to America’s culture and economy,” she said. “Our coalition will continue fighting for these asylum-seekers and the founding principles of our nation which have always welcomed immigrants.”
In the amicus brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the coalition highlighted the “irreparable harms” the rule will have on states and asylum-seekers.
THREAT
“In particular, the rule threatens the states’ economies, undermines state-funded legal service programs and contravenes the states’ interests in keeping families together,” said the coalition, stating that “welcomes thousands of asylum-seekers each year, adding that “the rule directly threatens these individuals by forcing them into dangerous circumstances in third countries that are not equipped to handle their claims.”
The amicus brief is the most recent in a number of actions James said she has taken to safeguard asylum protections for Caribbean and other immigrants. In February, James fought a similar Trump administration rule that will bar thousands of people from asylum if they do not apply in a third country while en route to the U.S.
