US immigration advocates blast ‘cruel’ Biden policies on asylum

Biden administration says expulsions are necessary to keep US detention centres from becoming overwhelmed during pandemic.

Immigration advocates are criticising US President Joe Biden’s asylum policies, saying expulsions of migrants at the United States-Mexico border and other deterrent measures were “cruel, unlawful and ineffective”. In a letter to Biden and top officials on Friday, more than 100 organisations urged the Democratic president to restore the ability of all migrants to claim asylum in the US and eschew any new policies that limit asylum access. Promising a more humane immigration approach, Biden has reversed many of the restrictive policies of his Republican predecessor, former President Donald Trump.