美国公民自由联盟(ACLU)、德克萨斯州民权项目和其他民权组织已经提交了一份联邦诉状，挑战乔·拜登总统最近发布的一项限制获得庇护的行政命令。
6月4日星期二，拜登发布了一项公告，限制在入境口岸之间进入美国的移民获得庇护。根据一项新的临时规定，当移民在边境遭遇的人数达到7天平均2500人或以上时，美国政府可以禁止难民入境。在遭遇连续一周低于1500次后，该规定于两周后取消。
两个总部位于德克萨斯州的民权组织，Las美洲移民倡导中心和难民及移民教育和法律服务中心(RAICES)被列为原告。美国国土安全部、美国公民和移民服务局等被列为被告。
根据现行移民法，抵达美国领土的移民“无论是否在指定的抵达港”都有资格申请庇护。美国公民自由联盟律师李·格莱特将领导这起诉讼，他声称，部分行政行为侵犯了移民寻求庇护的权利。
“这项禁令公然藐视国家的庇护法。庇护禁令完全是非法的，就像特朗普政府试图这样做时一样，”格勒恩特在一份声明中告诉ABC新闻。“这项法律不会阻止绝望的移民在这里寻求保护，只会将生命置于危险之中。”
格勒恩特说，拜登政府违反了《行政程序法》，部分原因是它没有按照程序要求在规则生效前给予公众发表意见的机会。
“拜登总统最近的行政命令公然违反了我们的整个庇护系统，并且没有可认知的基础来支持它。通过这样做，总统得以进一步惩罚寻求保护和违反我国法律的弱势个人和家庭。我们正在采取法律行动来证明这种公然无视人类安全的行为是非法的、不可持续的，必须予以制止。庇护不是一个漏洞，而是一项拯救生命的措施。在美国，获得庇护是一项受法律保护的人权，”拉斯美洲移民倡导中心倡导和法律服务主任詹妮弗·巴巴伊说。
“拜登-哈里斯政府在其职权范围内采取了这些行动，因为边境遭遇仍然太高，而且在国会共和党人两次投票反对一项历史性的两党边境安全协议之后，该协议将为边境提供关键资源、法定变化和额外人员。政府将继续执行我们的移民法——那些没有法律依据留在美国的人将被驱逐出境，”白宫发言人安杰洛·费尔南德斯·埃尔南德斯在一份声明中告诉ABC新闻。
高级官员周三对记者表示，尽管规定已经到位，但移民将被视为没有资格获得庇护，除非出现“异常紧迫的情况”，比如如果他们被拒绝入境，将面临医疗紧急情况或迫在眉睫的安全威胁。该公告还为移民设定了更高的标准，以确保他们有资格进入美国。
“我们无法对未决诉讼发表评论。保护边境规则是合法的，对于加强边境安全至关重要，并且已经产生了影响。受到质疑的行动仍然有效，我们将继续实施这些行动。未经授权的非公民不应来到我们的南部边境。非法穿越会有严重的后果，”DHS的一位发言人告诉ABC新闻。
移民官员将能够允许移民进入该国，如果他们提出的迫害或酷刑的“合理可能性”高于目前的“合理可能性”标准。该规定包括无人陪伴未成年人的例外情况，导致一些倡导者担心这将激励移民将他们的孩子独自前往美国进行危险的旅程。
Gelernt说，随着他的团队找到可能受该规则影响的移民，他计划增加个人原告。他说，诉状没有立即要求在法庭挑战结束时发出临时限制令来暂停该规则，但美国公民自由联盟继续考虑这样做。
周五，政府官员表示，自公告生效以来，正在办理快速遣返的移民人数增加了一倍多。
周日，DHS秘书亚历杭德罗·马约卡斯告诉《本周》节目主持人玛莎·拉达茨，新规定将推动移民选择合法途径寻求庇护，比如通过CBP One应用程序预约。
他说:“我们的目的是在个人离开原籍国之前真正改变他们的风险评估，并激励他们使用我们为他们提供的合法途径，并防止他们落入剥削性走私者的手中。”
他还反驳了美国公民自由联盟的说法，即该政策“将使成千上万的人处于危险之中。”
“我不同意美国公民自由联盟的观点。我预料他们会起诉我们。我们袖手旁观我们所做的事情的合法性。我们袖手旁观的价值主张，”马约卡斯说。
ACLU files federal complaint against new Biden asylum rule
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Texas Civil Rights Project and other civil rights organizations have filed a federal complaint challenging a recent executive order from President Joe Biden, which limits access to asylum.
On Tuesday, June 4, Biden issued a proclamation that restricts access to asylum for migrants who cross into the United States in between ports of entry. Under a new interim rule, the administration can bar asylum access when migrant encounters at the border reach a seven-day average of 2,500 or more. The rule is lifted two weeks after encounters drop to less than 1,500 for a week straight.
Two Texas-based civil rights organizations, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), are listed as plaintiffs in the complaint. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, among others, are listed as defendants.
Under current immigration law, migrants who reach U.S. soil "whether or not at a designated port of arrival" are eligible to apply for asylum. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who will be leading this lawsuit, claims, in part, that the executive action violates a migrant's right to seek asylum.
"This ban egregiously flouts the nation's asylum laws. An asylum ban is flatly illegal, just as it was when the Trump administration tried it," Gelernt told ABC News in a statement. "This law will not deter desperate migrants from seeking protection here and will just put lives at risk."
Gelernt said the Biden administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act, in part, because it did not go through the procedural requirement of giving the public a chance to comment before the rule took effect.
"President Biden's recent executive order flies in the face of our entire asylum system and has no cognizable basis to support it. By doing this, the president has managed to further penalize vulnerable individuals and families seeking protection and violated our laws. We are taking legal action to demonstrate that this flagrant disregard for human safety is illegal, unsustainable, and must be stopped. Asylum is not a loophole but rather a life-saving measure. Access to asylum is a human and legally protected right in the United States," said Jennifer Babaie, director of advocacy and legal services of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.
"The Biden-Harris Administration took these actions, within its authorities, because border encounters remain too high and after Congressional Republicans twice voted against a historic bipartisan border security agreement that would have provided critical resources, statutory changes, and additional personnel to the border. The Administration will continue to enforce our immigration laws – those without a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed," White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez told ABC News in a statement.
Senior officials told reporters on Wednesday that while the rule is in place, migrants will be considered ineligible for asylum except for "exceptionally compelling circumstances" like facing a medical emergency or imminent threat to their safety if they're denied entry. The proclamation also sets a higher standard for migrants to ensure they're eligible for admission into the U.S.
"We cannot comment on pending litigation. The Securing the Border rule is lawful, is critical to strengthening border security, and is already having an impact. The challenged actions remain in effect, and we will continue to implement them. Noncitizens without authorization should not come to our southern border. There are serious consequences for crossing unlawfully," a spokesperson for DHS told ABC News.
Immigration officials would be able to allow a migrant into the country if they presented a "reasonable probability" of persecution or torture, higher than the current "reasonable possibility" standard. The rule includes an exception for unaccompanied minors, leading some advocates to worry it will incentivize migrants to send their children to make the dangerous journey into the United States alone.
Gelernt said he plans to add individual plaintiffs as his team finds migrants who may have been subjected to the rule. The complaint does not immediately request a temporary restraining order to pause the rule while court challenge plays out, but the ACLU continues to consider doing so, he said.
On Friday, administration officials said the number of migrants being processed for expedited removal had more than doubled since the proclamation went into effect.
On Sunday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz the new rule would push migrants to opt for legal ways of seeking asylum, like making an appointment through the CBP One app.
"Our intent is to really change the risk calculus of individuals before they leave their countries of origin and incentivize them to use lawful pathways that we have made available to them and keep them out of the hands of exploitative smugglers," he said.
He also pushed back on the ACLU's claim that the policy "will put thousands of people at risk."
"I respectfully disagree with the ACLU. I anticipate they will sue us. We stand by the legality of what we have done. We stand by the value proposition," Mayorkas said.
