Advocacy Needed for Journey to Asylum

As part of JTA, we will call on the congregation to help with advocacy efforts related to asylum seekers – this is our first urgent ask. After years of chipping away at the asylum system and the rights of those in need of protection, the Trump administration is proposing a rule that would effectively end asylum once and for all. This is a crisis moment and historic low point with literal life or death consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

 

In the proposed rule, the administration would allow judges to decide cases before people have had the chance to present their full case in court and deny asylum for reasons that have nothing to do with the need for protection. It raises the standards for the initial border interview impossibly high and gives adjudicators discretion to deny asylum applications on legal grounds that federal courts are currently reviewing and are not yet final. It also ends asylum for those fleeing violence from intimate partners and family members, gangs and other non-state actors.

 

This rule would discard those who need hospitality and protection the most.

We need you to take three actions today:

 

1. Submit a public comment: Use this click-to-comment campaign to learn more and submit your comment to the administration today! The click-to-comment campaign will close 1 p.m. ET Wednesday, July 15.

2. Take the #Comments4Asylum pledge: After submitting your comment, take the #Comments4Asylum pledge and get three other people to join you. You can reach out one-on-one or tag people on social media!

Sample social media post: My faith called me to submit a comment against the administration’s plan to end asylum. I am pledging to get three others to speak out for those seeking safety too! [Tag your 3 friends] Join me: https://p2a.co/vRu15hT #Comments4Asylum #Faith4Asylum

3. Write a personalized letter: Send a handwritten letter to the administration about why the U.S. must protect asylum seekers. Use your own stories, perspectives, values and research. Handwritten letters and other unique comments are key to helping slow down this cruel plan. Note: you can comment online AND send a letter, there is no limit.

Instructions:

  1. To count, the letter must reference: “DHS/EOIR; RIN 1125-AA94; EOIR Docket No. 18-0002.”

  2. The letter must be postmarked by July 15, 2020.

  3. Address:

Lauren Alder Reid, Assistant Director
Office of Policy
Executive Office for Immigration Review
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 1800
Falls Church, VA 22041