California Attorney General's Letter Asks Feds To Ensure Access To Asylum

By Ria Roebuck Joseph | Center Square contributor, The Center Square California

March 29, 2023

(The Center Square) - A coalition of 12 attorneys general led by California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta, today issued a letter to the federal government “to continue to explore common sense solutions to both protect access to asylum and ensure a more efficient and orderly process.”

In light of the impending expiration of Title 42 on May 11, 2023 which empowered federal health authorities to deny entry to immigrants in the interest of public health, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are looking at ways “to better ensure lawful, safe, and orderly mechanisms for migrants to seek safety in the United States,” once the title comes to an end.

“I welcome the federal government’s efforts to ensure the asylum process is safe and orderly. However, we must also remain committed to ensuring that migrants have a meaningful opportunity to apply for asylum,” Bonta stated.

Generally, an asylum-seeker is someone who requests sanctuary and protection from another country. Immigrants requesting asylum can be targets for violence, political refugees, persecuted individuals or individuals facing human rights violations, and war refugees.

The DHS and DOJ proposed rule (1) premises eligibility on manner of entry; (2) expands the circumstances under which an individual can be denied asylum based on third-country transit outside of the limits of the statute; and (3) raises the deliberately low credible fear screening standard.

The coalition believes the proposed rule is in conflict with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and could harm already vulnerable asylum seekers, and, by extension, the States who are signatory to the letter.

“Offering protection to the vulnerable and those in need is a core American value and tradition,” said Attorney General Bonta.

The UN Refugee Agency review states that during 2014 the United States of America was ranked the second highest industrialized nation with asylum seeker claims with 121,200 asylum applications. Only Germany had more claims and continued to be the largest single recipient of new asylum claims.

Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The coalition noted that if asylum is improperly restricted, it will limit the ability of asylum seekers to integrate into state workforces and potentially strain state-funded services and the proposed rule would unfairly harm many asylum seekers, particularly those with fewer resources. They are also of the view that the provisions of the current proposal conflict with the more expansive protections guaranteed under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Bonta said, “Our nation has long been a beacon of hope to immigrants from around the world seeking safety and a better life. I urge the federal government to carefully consider the potential impacts of this proposal on the fundamental right to seek asylum in the United States.”

It is estimated that annually there are about 1 million asylum seekers around the world.

By the end of 2021, there were approximately 4.6 million individuals awaiting asylum claim decisions globally.

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