The Biden administration has proposed a new asylum ban. People who travel through another country, without first applying for asylum there, will be ineligible for asylum in the United States.

This asylum ban is yet another example of the government weaponizing language to limit freedom of mobility. Under the proposed ban, asylum seekers must undergo their process via the CBP One mobile app. The app is only available in English and Spanish, in spite of the fact that dozens of languages are spoken by asylum seekers at the border.

Last month, our partners at Immigrant Defenders Law Center reported that out of 150 families attempting to use the app at the border, not a single family was able to schedule with the app. The CBP app’s ensuing error message is only provided in English, causing confusion and panic as shown in the tweet below.

This is why at Respond we mobilize human trauma-informed interpreters and advocate for the fundamental human right to language access and free movement. Here are ways the Respond community can help fight Biden’s racist asylum ban:

Submit a public comment to stop President Biden’s proposed racist asylum ban at this link by March 27th. (The government – unsurprisingly– will only review comments submitted in English in spite of this ban almost exclusively affecting non-English speaking communities.)

Please make the comments personal to you. Here is a draft that might help, but personalizing it with your own message about why you care is highly recommended:

I ___(your name here)____ am deeply opposed to Biden’s proposed asylum ban: a racist ban on Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and disabled asylum seekers and refugees. President Biden has sought to distinguish his proposed asylum ban from Trump’s asylum ban, but I see through that and know that it will cause the same irreparable harm and traumatic family separation that Trump’s ban did.

The proposed asylum ban is a betrayal of Biden’s campaign promise to “restore our moral standing and our historic role as a safe haven for refugees and asylum-seekers”. This was his promise when he campaigned for office and he is breaking it.

If you are based in the U.S., you can also call your Members of Congress and demand that they fight the asylum ban:

At these links you can find information to contact your:
House Members
Senators

Suggested script for emails and calls:

Hello, my name is ________. I live in_______, and I am one of your constituents. I am outraged by the Biden administration’s proposed asylum ban. He made promises to the people of the United States that his administration would be more humane to those seeking refuge here. The ban is xenophobic and racist. It is the Trump Asylum Ban 2.0, and not what I voted for. What will you be doing to fight against this ban and what will you do to ensure asylum seekers are welcomed to the U.S. with dignity as is the promise of this country?