The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program (HIRC) recently submitted comments urging the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to withdraw their proposed amendments on asylum procedures and bars to asylum, which jeopardize the lives and safety of countless refugees. The proposed rules would add seven categorical bars to asylum, including to those who have misdemeanor offenses related to controlled substances and use of fraudulent documents. In the comments, HIRC strongly condemns these new amendments, citing the protections the U.S. is required to provide asylum seekers under domestic and international law, and the proposed amendments’ disregard for the effects of trauma on asylum-seekers and violation of due process, among other reasons.
You can read the full comments here.