(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/9/18) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy and civil rights group, today condemned new Trump administration rules announced yesterday that would deny asylum to virtually any migrant arriving at the border and that are based on the same controversial legal justification used for Trump’s “Muslim Ban.”
Trump is expected to announce today which countries the new policy, which will go into effect as soon as it is published in the Federal Register, will apply to. The changes effectively close the option of asylum to anyone not entering the country at an official port of entry.
The new policy violates clear language in existing law, which states that immigrants on U.S. soil may seek asylum “whether or not” they arrived through a port of entry.
SEE: Trump Moves to Restrict Asylum Access at the U.S.-Mexico Border
In a statement, CAIR said:
“This latest effort to exclude minorities from the United States is just another part of the Trump Administration’s ugly white supremacist agenda,” said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas. “We condemn the continuation of a racist policy that was put into place with the Muslim ban. Migrants at the border or on U.S. soil have an absolute right to seek asylum. ”
Since the Trump administration’s first attempt to ban Muslim immigration to the United States, CAIR filed legal challenges to each of the ban’s permutations.
SEE: CAIR Decries U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision Allowing Muslim Ban to Remain in Effect
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.
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CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Naaz Modan, 202-748-4319, nmodan@cair.com