rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/tell-pres-biden-end-the-asylum-ban?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-tell-pres-biden-end-the-asylum-ban' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Immigration Equality Action Fund https://actionnetwork.org/groups/urgent-demand-congress https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/331/922/normal/Act_now_to_save_asylum_for_LGBTQ_refugees!.png It has been one year since the Biden administration enacted an asylum ban (also known as the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule) that places severe restrictions on asylum at the Southern border making it difficult, if not impossible, for many LGBTQ refugees to access protection. The ban makes asylum presumptively unavailable for refugees unless they wait in Mexico – where LGBTQ refugees are routinely brutalized – for an appointment with U.S. officials through a digital lottery using a broken smart phone app. The other main exception is if an LGBTQ person files for asylum in another country they traveled through to get to the U.S. – almost all of which are notoriously dangerous for queer and trans people. This new rule is putting LGBTQ refugees in mortal danger. As queer organizations warned it would, and as the NGOs Human Rights First, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have all reported, the ban has resulted in migrants being targeted for kidnappings, torture, rape, and other brutal violence. Drastically limiting asylum and putting impossible burdens on asylum seekers in this way is cruel, and it violates international law. What’s more, these types of enforcement-only policies never work. They create chaos at the border and push desperate refugees into the hands of traffickers. What they do not do is stop LGBTQ refugees from trying to save their lives. And that should never be a goal of the federal government. Despite the failure of this policy (and the similar “cruelty first” policies under President Trump), there are rumors that the Biden administration plans to institute additional measures aimed at shutting the border to asylum seekers altogether. By implementing such policies, instead of humane solutions that would effectively and compassionately manage the border, President Biden has broken his promise to protect LGBTQ asylum seekers and refugees. We’re calling on supporters to tell President Biden to end the asylum ban! Through our ActionNetwork tool, supporters will send a pre-written letter expressing outrage at the egregious human rights abuses resulting from this rule and urging Biden to do the right thing and end it. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-pres-biden-end-the-asylum-ban