On World Refugee Day, the U.S. Should Lead by Example

On World Refugee Day, Human Rights First applauds the Biden administration’s tremendous progress in improving the pace of U.S. refugee resettlement and calls on the administration to uphold refugee law, and end asylum bans, at its own borders. 

“The Biden administration has taken critical steps to address inefficiencies and delays that long plagued the U.S. refugee resettlement system, leading to striking improvements in the pace and scale of resettlement,” said Eleanor Acer, Senior Director for Refugee Protection at Human Rights First. “To truly lead by example, the United States must also uphold at its own borders the rules it expects other countries to respect around the world. The Biden administration must end its asylum bans that endanger refugee lives and trample on U.S. and international refugee law.  By upholding asylum at our own borders, the United States will both save lives and encourage other countries, which already host the vast majority of the world’s refugees, to continue to welcome people seeking refuge.”

Human Rights First has documented the harms inflicted by the May 2023 asylum ban and issued a short fact-sheet today outlining some of the damage caused by the new June 4, 2024 asylum ban. We continue to recommend that the Biden administration expand access to asylum at ports of entry, increase CBP One appointments and languages, work with Congress to properly fund and staff asylum and immigration court adjudications, and continue to strengthen refugee resettlement and parole initiatives.  

To speak with Eleanor Acer or other experts at Human Rights First, please contact [email protected].