For immediate release
June 4, 2024
NAKASEC Condemns Biden New Executive Order
Washington, D.C. – Today, President Biden signed a new Executive Order effectively dismantling the asylum system and subjecting already-vulnerable communities to further harm and chaos.
The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) organizes Korean and Asian Americans toward racial, social, and economic justice. With affiliates in Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Texas, the network strongly condemns this policy.
“This new rule is wrong,” said NAKASEC co-director Jung Woo Kim. “It makes it harder for people to come to the United States to escape danger. People who are fleeing violence, persecution, or disasters shouldn’t be turned away. Everyone deserves to be safe. This rule goes against international laws that protect people in need. We at NAKASEC strongly oppose this. It pits immigrants against each other and doesn’t solve the real problems of migration. People will always move for a better life, and we should have a fair system to help them. President Biden’s administration promised to be better, but this rule is a step backward. It’s not what America stands for.”
Instead of being led by fear, propaganda, and xenophobia, we implore Congress and the Biden administration to invest in evidence-based solutions that will effectively manage the U.S. border and meet the needs of migrants and border communities. The American people are clear in their support for improving the immigration system through increased pathways and personnel support. We uplift the four management solutions from the national campaign, #WelcomeWithDignity:
- Restore access to asylum at our nation’s border by properly staffing ports of entry along the U.S. border to efficiently and safely process people seeking safety; and immediately increasing the number of CBP One appointments available and expanding the program to all ports.
- Support existing and launch new systems to receive and integrate people seeking asylum.The White House should establish a centralized office that works with agencies, states, localities, and nonprofits to coordinate and fund humane reception and integration of people seeking asylum.
- Create a more effective and timely asylum system by prioritizing funding more asylum court staff, interpreters, asylum judges and officers. Work permit applications also need to be more accessible, with shorter processing times to allow migrants and their families to become independent sooner.
- Strengthen refugee resettlement programs and other pathways to the United States by investing in current and new overseas and domestic refugee programs, allowing people with approved cases to travel to the U.S. safely and reunite swiftly with loved ones already here. These programs should complement – never replace – robust asylum access at the southern border.
To read more visit: https://bit.ly/WelcomeWithDignitySolutions
Media contact: Rachel Koelzer, rachel@nakasec.org, (213) 703-0992