CAIR-FL Expresses Concerns About Impact of President Biden’s Executive Order Suspending Asylum Claims - CAIR Florida
Tuesday, 18 February 2025

CAIR-FL Expresses Concerns About Impact of President Biden’s Executive Order Suspending Asylum Claims

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(TAMPA, FL, 6/5/24) – The Florida Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL), today expressed concern about the impact of President Biden’s executive order temporarily suspending  the processing of most asylum claims at the southern U.S. border.

The order, which activates when the seven-day average of unauthorized crossings exceeds 2,500, sets an arbitrary threshold and is built off of the same legal framework that the Trump Administration used in 2017 to justify its discriminatory and unconstitutional ban on Muslim and African immigrants, students, and travelers.

In a statement, CAIR-FL‘s Policy Manager, Mari Marks said:

“Biden campaigned on protecting asylum rights in 2020. He promised thousands of American voters and asylum seekers in limbo that he would protect the international human right of asylum.

This is a blatant attempt to siphon voters from Trump, by playing into their xenophobia and hate for Central Americans. We have seen him consistently make backroom deals with Republican lawmakers for ‘border security’ in order to continue funding a genocide in Gaza. Biden is clearly more interested in winning Republican votes, than respecting his base and upholding international human rights law at the border, and in Gaza.

It is transparent, unethical, and a betrayal of human rights. This will be his legacy.”

The executive order mandates that asylum restrictions remain in place until the seven-day average of unauthorized crossings drops below 1,500 for 14 consecutive days, with the measures reactivating if the number reaches 2,500 again. Such a policy fails to address the root causes of migration and instead punishes vulnerable individuals seeking safety and a better life.

CAIR-FL acknowledges that the current influx of undocumented immigrants seeking asylum and entry into the United States is, in part, a direct result of Congress’s failure to adopt comprehensive immigration reform. Legislative measures like the American Dream and Promise Act and the U.S. Citizenship Act, which would have created a permanent pathway for our nation’s undocumented persons, remains stalled in Congress.

 

The mission of CAIR-Florida is to protect civil rights, promote understanding of Islam, advocate for justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR-Florida es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia y empoderar a los musulmanes estadounidenses.

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CONTACT: Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, Media and Outreach Director, (305) 502-6749, [email protected]

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