WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Monday, President Joe Biden’s administration announced an updated proclamation and a final rule to further restrict asylum access at the southern border. The Young Center is strongly opposed to the proclamation and rule, as it was to the June proclamation and interim rule. In response, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights released the following statement:  

These cruel border policies leave children and families in situations of grave danger in Mexico or at high risk of being returned to the very harm they fled, without any due process or respect for their human rights.  

The final rule expands upon already draconian restrictions included in President Biden’s June 2024 proclamation and interim rule, which have denied many children and families access to asylum and the opportunity to seek protection.  While the interim rule allowed for restrictions to be lifted if fewer than an average of 1,500 people were stopped at the border for seven consecutive days, the final rule only allows the asylum ban to be lifted if the seven-day average stays under 1,500 encounters per day for 28 consecutive days. These changes increase the likelihood that the numbers will exceed the daily threshold and asylum ban restrictions will continue, making it nearly impossible for most people to seek asylum at the southern border without an appointment. 

In addition, this new rule includes unaccompanied children in the asylum ban’s “daily encounter” count. This inclusion of unaccompanied children – who are exempt from the asylum ban’s restrictions – in the daily encounter number uses immigrant children as political pawns. Unaccompanied children’s need to seek safety at the border should never be used to deny anyone else their right to apply for asylum. 

###   

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first.