{"id":184513,"date":"2021-05-29T17:58:05","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T17:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=4c1b48441b3d8a10274ddca3b40c38ea"},"modified":"2021-05-29T17:58:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T17:58:05","slug":"immigrant-advocates-are-worried-about-threats-to-due-process-in-new-biden-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/05\/29\/immigrant-advocates-are-worried-about-threats-to-due-process-in-new-biden-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigrant Advocates Are Worried About Threats to Due Process in New Biden Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Migrants<\/a>

After the Biden administration on Friday announced<\/a> a “dedicated docket” process that aims to “more expeditiously and fairly make decisions in immigration cases of families who arrive between ports of entry at the southwest border,” migrant rights advocates and experts expressed alarm that the changes could negatively impact asylum-seekers.<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to dramatically shift away from immigration policies of former President Donald Trump that were widely denounced as cruel. Human rights defenders have urged<\/a> Biden to enable fair and timely asylum hearings, while avoiding the “rocket dockets” of the Obama and Trump administrations that critics say<\/a> eroded due process<\/a>, exacerbated<\/a> backlogs, limited<\/a> access to counsel, resulted in high rates<\/a> of in absentia removals, and ultimately endangered lives.<\/p>\n

Under previous administrations, “families were quickly rushed through proceedings without a fair chance to seek protection,” explained<\/a> Ursela Ojeda of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) in a statement Friday. “As a result, many were ordered deported without ever having the chance to meaningfully make their case to an immigration judge.”<\/p>\n

“While we encourage the Biden administration to continue efforts to expand access to legal orientations,” Ojeda said, “we are concerned that these families will be unnecessarily placed on electronic surveillance and subjected to a shortened timeline that risks undermining meaningful due process within the highly politicized and subjective immigration court system.”<\/p>\n

“Although the decision suggests some flexibility so that ‘fairness will not be compromised,'” she added, “WRC is deeply concerned that the suggested time constraints, lack of guaranteed counsel, and meaningful community-based case support could set families up to fail.”<\/p>\n

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These policies risk undermining due process in asylum adjudications, while the Biden administration continues to fail to end illegal Trump policies that deny refugees U.S. protection.<\/p>\n

More in our release: https:\/\/t.co\/jXfk8ePn9e<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/f1s2h2UYls<\/a><\/p>\n

— Human Rights First (@humanrights1st) May 28, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n