The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is once again expressing alarm at the U.S. policy targeting vulnerable people and families, saying it has “serious concerns” with a new Trump administration rule that will deport asylum-seekers to Guatemala with no concern about their well-being after they land.
The plan “is an approach at variance with international law that could result in the transfer of highly vulnerable individuals to countries where they may face life-threatening dangers,” the agency said, noting it “is not party” to any new agreements between the U.S. and Guatemala. “We are in dialogue with all of the governments concerned to enumerate our concerns as we also seek to learn more about their plans for implementation.”
But BuzzFeed has reported Homeland Security officials has been themselves “scrambling to figure out critical details, including how those seeking protection would obtain shelter, food, and access to orientation services” once in Guatemala. Much like the inhumane and illegal Remain in Mexico policy, the administration is disposing of vulnerable people in dangerous conditions where their very lives could be at risk.
“Once again,” said Douglas Rivlin of immigrant rights advocacy group America’s Voice, “Trump is executing a poorly thought out plan to enact Stephen Miller's agenda of keeping asylum-seekers out regardless of whether their asylum claims are valid and lawful. Rather than protecting asylum-seekers, as our law requires, Trump, Miller and the Republicans simply want to end asylum.”
Not the first time the U.N. has condemned recent U.S. immigration policy. Earlier this year, Michelle Bachelet, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she was “appalled by the conditions in which migrants and refugees—children and adults—are being held in detention in the United States of America after crossing the southern border.” The year before, she called the “zero tolerance” policy resulting in the kidnapping of thousands of kids from their families, “unconscionable.”