As a bipartisan group of Senators negotiate a supplemental funding deal that includes harmful changes to asylum law, Casey Carter Swegman, Director of Public Policy at the Tahirih Justice Center, issued the following statement:

“These proposals are a non-starter. What is being discussed – policies akin to an asylum ban – create near impossible barriers to apply for and receive asylum and put immigrant survivors of gender-based violence at great risk of further harm and trauma. These changes would have devastating consequences for the many people seeking safety in our country.

“The deterrence-based proposals on the table would uniquely harm immigrant survivors of gender-based violence, who face increased risk of re-victimization on their perilous journey to the U.S. Every day, immigrant survivors of gender-based violence arrive at our border having escaped unspeakable violence and Black, Brown, Indigenous, women and LGBTQI refugees are particularly vulnerable. They should not be met with hostile and unmanageable policies that violate their humanity as well as their legal rights.

“The Tahirih Justice Center urges Senators to swiftly reject any attempts to condition the success of a supplemental funding package on these harmful anti-immigrant policy proposals and instead work towards real solutions rooted in our legal and ethical obligations to those seeking refuge from gender-based violence and persecution.”