SAN DIEGO – Today, a binational group of 97 organizations released a letter urging the President Joe Biden administration to improve the nation’s asylum system and eliminate policies implemented by the previous administration aimed at preventing people from seeking asylum in the United States.

The letter demands that the Biden-Harris administration end policies such as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), asylum metering, Title 42 expulsions and the so-called Safe Third Country agreements. All of these policies deny people the right to seek asylum safely within the United States.

Many of the organizations that signed the letter work bi-nationally along the California and Mexico border to provide humanitarian, legal, health, housing and other assistance to people seeking asylum, including thousands who have been forced to remain in Mexico under the Trump administration’s cruel and illegal policies.

Among other changes, the letter demands that the Biden-Harris administration:

• Guarantee that people seeking asylum who are trapped in Mexico will not be detained in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody when they enter the U.S., nor will they be subjected to GPS ankle monitoring;
• Establish a clear protocol and communication line for attorneys on to coordinate with ICE and CBP on specific cases and issues with processing, and provide contact information for cases that need to be escalated directly to administration officials; and
• Immediately begin identifying and processing into the United States the most vulnerable people seeking asylum. This process should not unnecessarily delay or be used to halt the processing of other MPP respondents and people seeking asylum.

A copy of the letter including a full list of demands is available in English and Spanish

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