New York, NY, November 8, 2018 — The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to today’s announcement by the administration on US asylum policy.
Jenn Piatt, Senior Director of Refugee Resettlement & Asylum Policy and Advocacy, said:
“The IRC is strongly opposed to the administration’s latest decision to deny safe haven to families seeking asylum. Today’s action amounts to a blanket ban on vulnerable families fleeing violence and persecution in search of safety in the United States, clearly violating domestic and international law.
“This cruel decision will only result in uncertainty and insecurity for children and parents who are fleeing horrific violence and persecution. Further, it does nothing to address the root causes of this crisis, which are at the caravan’s origin, not its destination. The administration should instead be focused on addressing these root causes in the Northern Triangle, where humanitarian organizations like the IRC are on the ground working to alleviate suffering."
To date, the IRC’s emergency response in El Salvador has:
- Provided cash to more than 869 beneficiaries through an IRC designed and led cash mechanism with 15 partners;
- Trained over 730 civil society and government partners in protection in practice;
- Recorded more than 43,000 visits to CuentaNos.org (an interactive information platform that provides trustworthy, up-to-date information of over 60 partners and over 695 individual points of service via the internet);
- Directly addressed 23 crisis cases for those being deported back to El Salvador, or in highly vulnerable situations within El Salvador; and
- Disbursed immediate emergency cash assistance to more than 90 vulnerable Salvadorans returning from the migrant caravans.
The IRC has responded to asylum seekers in the United States through:
- An emergency response to assist families being reunified or released in large numbers from federal custody;
- Short-term case management services to reunited families that had been separated under zero tolerance; and
- Comprehensive case management services to asylum-seeking families in need of support as they await the outcome of their proceedings.