The United Nations, which exists almost exclusively to harass Israel, is “deeply concerned” about the Trump administration’s new policy that requires migrants to ask for asylum in the first country they reach instead of traversing along to the United States. Migrants would be ineligible to ask for asylum in the U.S. if they ignored prior asylum opportunities elsewhere.
Yesterday, the administration announced these changes which are set to take effect on Tuesday.
According to a new rule published in the Federal Register , asylum seekers who pass through another country first will be ineligible for asylum at the U.S. southern border. The rule, expected to go into effect Tuesday, also applies to children who have crossed the border alone.
There are some exceptions: If someone has been trafficked, if the country the migrant passed through did not sign one of the major international treaties that govern how refugees are managed (though most Western countries have signed them) or if an asylum-seeker sought protection in a country but was denied, then a migrant could still apply for U.S. asylum.
UNHCR says Trump administration overly restricts the right to apply for asylum, “and threatens the right not to be sent back to countries where people could face persecution.”
“We understand that the U.S. asylum system is under significant strain. And we are ready to play a constructive role if needed in helping alleviate this strain,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
“But we are deeply concerned about this measure,” he added. “It will put vulnerable families at risk. It will undermine efforts by countries across the region to devise the coherent, collective responses that are needed. This measure is severe and is not the best way forward.”
That sounds like gibberish. “Countries across the region” have no say in how the U.S. decides to handle asylum requests so there’s no need for “coherent, collective responses.” Why should these other countries get a say when the U.N. doesn’t even think they are good enough for migrants to claim asylum?
Image from Getty images.