President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday a new rule that would prevent many migrants from being able to seek asylum in the United States.
Under the new rule, asylum-seekers who didn’t apply for protections in the country through which they were passing to get to the U.S. would be ineligible for asylum.
The rule, which will go into effect on Tuesday, would primarily impact Central American migrants who travel through Mexico to reach the U.S. Many of the migrants come from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which are some of the most dangerous countries in the world.
“This Rule is a lawful exercise of authority provided by Congress to restrict eligibility for asylum,” Attorney General Bill Barr said in a statement. “The United States is a generous country but is being completely overwhelmed by the burdens associated with apprehending and processing hundreds of thousands of aliens along the southern border.”
Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan said in his statement that the new rule “will reduce the overwhelming burdens on our domestic system.”
Kate Jastram, a campaign director at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, blasted the rule as “blatantly illegal.”
“Instead of abdicating our moral and legal responsibilities to refugees, the United States should advance real solutions that address the humanitarian challenges in our region,” Jastram said in a statement.
Read the DHS’ document below:
