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December 04, 2023

ABA letter on bipartisan border negotiations

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2023 — American Bar Association President Mary Smith wrote to the U.S. Senate to urge senators to continue working towards bipartisan solutions to the difficult challenges presented at the U.S. southern border. However, the ABA would oppose including provisions in the federal funding proposal that abrogate our nation’s moral and legal responsibility to protect asylum seekers — obligations that stem from longstanding domestic and international law.

The ABA strongly opposes proposals in the current funding negotiations that would restrict, or effectively eliminate, asylum for most migrants fleeing persecution in their home countries. For example, raising the credible fear standard and limiting the availability of review of fear-based claims would exacerbate serious due process concerns caused by the lack of access to reliable legal information and representation.

Read the entire letter here.

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