As Biden Heads to Border, Amnesty Says Ditch 'Cruel' Anti-Migrant Policies

Just ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's planned trip to a Texas border city, Amnesty International USA on Wednesday urged the Democrat to "abandon cruel anti-immigrant proposals" he is weighing after a controversial package opposed by rights groups and progressive lawmakers recently failed to get through the divided Congress.

"With President Biden visiting the border this week, he should remember that he once campaigned on a promise to restore the United States' role as a safe haven for refugees and asylum-seekers. Instead, his policies of deterrence have caused a humanitarian catastrophe along the border," said Amy Fischer, the group's director of refugee and migrant rights, in a statement.

Biden, who is seeking reelection in November, is scheduled to travel to Brownsville "to meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, and local leaders," according to Politico. The White House confirmed those plans Monday, after it was announced former President Donald Trump, the likely GOP nominee, is set to visit Eagle Pass, Texas, the same day.

"President Biden must use this visit to meet with asylum-seekers who had to flee extreme violence and insecurity in their home countries, only to face extortion, kidnapping, and sexual violence as they were waiting in Mexico due to his cruel asylum ban," Fischer said. "And he must also meet with the incredible organizations and volunteers who are on the frontlines of our migration crisis, welcoming people seeking safety, and exemplifying a model for what safe and welcoming border systems can look like."

"Days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's attack on Annunciation House's long history of welcoming immigrants, it is critical for Biden to hear ideas and solutions from the frontline nongovernmental organizations who know first-hand the solutions of a functional asylum reception system," Fischer continued.

Paxton, a Republican, is trying to shut down the faith-based organization that has aided migrants in El Paso for decades, claiming that "information strongly suggesting Annunciation House is engaged in legal violations such as facilitating illegal entry to the United States, alien harboring, human smuggling, and operating a stash house."

The Catholic group said in a statement last week that "the attorney general's illegal, immoral, and anti-faith position to shut down Annunciation House is unfounded," and its efforts to help migrants are "no different from that of the schools who enroll children of refugees, the clinics and hospitals who care for the needs of refugees, and the churches, synagogues, and mosques who welcome families to join in worship."

While groups like Annunciation House have welcomed migrants, Republican Texas leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have prioritized limiting access to the state and sending away those who make it there, often with legally dubious actions. Rights advocates, including Amnesty, are urging Biden to distinguish himself from the likes of Abbott and Trump—who has threatened mass deportations if he returns to power.

According to The New York Times:

Mr. Trump plans to deliver remarks from the border to highlight the immigration crisis and lay blame at the feet of Mr. Biden, according to a person close to Mr. Trump who was not authorized to discuss the plans publicly.

Mr. Trump is expected to highlight crimes committed by migrants in New York and in other cities, as well as the arrest of a Venezuelan undocumented immigrant in the recent high-profile killing of a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia, the person added.

"We challenge President Biden to stop his blatant disregard for the right to seek asylum and his continued politicizing of migrant rights and lives," said Fischer. "We challenge him to abandon his cruel proposals that echo Trump's anti-immigrant playbook, and instead to advance policies that would ensure both the protection of human rights and an orderly border."

"President Biden needs to find the political courage to rise above the growing tide of xenophobia and return to his promise to push for commonsense solutions that center safety and human rights," she added. "Until he does that, he'll only be on a race to the bottom as far as who can be the cruelest to those who need protection."