Joseph Biden, running for president in 2020, promised to reverse the racist Trump immigration policies, including the administration’s draconian restrictions against asylum seekers. This pledge helped Señor Biden gain support from millions of Latino and Asian-Pacific Islander voters. Their votes proved critical to his victory in several key states.

Now we’re getting the typical presidential flip-flop. Like so many other bourgeois politicos, Biden seems to be bowing down to the anti-immigrant hysteria of the Republican Right and adopting a number of Trump’s terrible asylum policies. Last Tuesday, his administration released a new rule that will essentially prevent migrants who travel through other countries to reach the US-Mexico border from applying for asylum in the United States. 

But how the hell can any migrant from the Caribe or Central America get into the United States without “traveling through other countries”? 

This latest White House move doesn’t just give a gran abrazo to the racist Republicans who fear that poor, dark-skinned immigrants are “taking over the United States.” This move also marks a major departure from decades-long protocol.

Gracias a dios, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus openly voiced their frustration with this rule when the Biden administration announced it. They felt blindsided by the lack of public engagement, como siempre! 

Krish O’Mara Vignarahah, the president and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, called it like it is: “Requiring persecuted people to first seek protection in countries with no functioning asylum systems” amounts to “a ludicrous and life-threatening proposal.” 

Exactly! Life-threatening indeed! Why would people feel compelled to leave their homes and undertake dangerous and costly journeys to the US if they weren’t facing violence and threats to their lives? And now, with this proposed new Biden administration policy, that threat to their lives will remain.

Biden, what the hell are you doing? You promised to restore asylum, to ensure that the United States honored international asylum protocol. That protocol does not require your new outrageous restrictions. You’re now acting like the Orange One. And the political chisme — gossip — has it that you’re also considering adopting a fast-track deportation process.  

Yes, the Biden administration is facing strong opposition from immigrant advocates, and labor unions will hopefully also add their voices to this pushback. Mexican President Lopez-Obrador is also resisting being held responsible for migrants. But the government of the USA has an arsenal of carrots and sticks to get what it wants.

So what can make a difference? A binational united front from below. Si se puede!