Secure the Border Final Rule Further Cements Restrictive Asylum Policies at the Border 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2024
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MIAMI, FL — On Monday, the Biden Administration issued a Presidential Proclamation updating its June 2024 proclamation on suspension of entry at the southern border, while the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice simultaneously released the accompanying Securing the Border Final Rule 

Under the proclamation and interim final rule announced this summer, access to asylum was temporarily suspended for individuals who enter the U.S. during “emergency circumstances” and must affirmatively outcry a fear of return in order to be referred to immigration officials for a fear screening. This updated proclamation makes this temporary suspension more permanent by raising the bar upon which these emergency measures can be lifted.  

Instead of the suspension lifting after encounters fall to an average of less than 1,500 people over seven consecutive days, the seven-day average of 1,500 encounters must persist for 28 consecutive days before the suspension can be lifted. The proclamation also expanded the populations included in the daily encounter count to include unaccompanied children from non-contiguous territories.  

“With these developments, the Presidential Proclamation expands the restrictive and harmful policies that have prevented full and fair access to the U.S. asylum system for months,” said Cindy Woods, National Policy Counsel for Americans for Immigrant Justice. “The negative impacts of the application of the interim final rule have been well documented, and vulnerable asylum seekers will continue to be turned away by the U.S. government in contravention of its moral and legal obligations under this final rule.” 

AI Justice continues to call on the Administration and Congress to reject efforts that undermine due process and limit access to asylum as a means to deter those seeking safety and instead, invest in frontline efforts to process and welcome migrants humanely.