Many families from Central America and other parts of the world are attempting to cross the U.S. border to seek asylum. However due to the COVID19 pandemic, the border has been effectively closed, shutting off the opportunity for many individuals, including unaccompanied children fleeing persecution, to find protection in the United States. Several recent policies have meant that parents are often forced to make unnecessary, harmful decisions to keep their families detained indefinitely or face separation from their children and many individuals who could qualify for asylum are being returned to dangerous situations.
Many families from Central America and other parts of the world are attempting to cross the U.S. border to seek asylum. However due to the COVID19 pandemic, the border has been effectively closed, shutting off the opportunity for many individuals, including unaccompanied children fleeing persecution, to find protection in the United States. Several recent policies have meant that parents are often forced to make unnecessary, harmful decisions to keep their families detained indefinitely or face separation from their children and many individuals who could qualify for asylum are being returned to dangerous situations.
Both the president and the Congress have key roles in managing how our nation’s border is managed. We ought to respect our laws designed to ensure secure borders but also our laws that offer asylum to those who have fled a credible fear of persecution. Ask your Representative and Senators know that you are concerned about many asylum seekers being denied due process as well as about those allowed to seek asylum, who face a backlogged process and the challenge of sustaining themselves in the meantime.