Statement for the Record of Human Rights First on Customs and Border Protection Oversight

U.S. Senate, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Hearing on Customs and Border Protection Oversight

June 25, 2020

Thank you for the opportunity to submit a statement for the record for the Hearing on Oversight of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This hearing comes as CBP is blocking and expelling thousands of asylum seekers and unaccompanied children at the southern U.S. border in violation of U.S. law and treaty obligations and was recently inappropriately deployed in the interior of the United States in response to public protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Human Rights First is an independent advocacy and action organization that presses the U.S. government to respect human rights and the rule of law, both around the world and here at home. We advocate for fair asylum and refugee resettlement systems to protect and provide safe haven to refugees who have fled human rights abuses, and we partner with the nation’s leading law firms to provide pro bono legal representation to refugees seeking asylum in the United States.