ABA, ACLU Object to President Biden's Immigration Actions

The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Bar Association (ABA) are among the groups opposing President Joe Biden’s executive order curbing asylum eligibility for migrants who illegally cross the southern border during peak periods.

ABA President Mary Smith said in a statement Wednesday the ABA “strongly opposes” the executive order, which “effectively seals the southern border” when illegal border crossings exceed a seven-day average of 2,500.  "This violates critical provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, international law and due process. It jeopardizes the safety of thousands of vulnerable individuals and families on both sides of the border and diminishes America’s longstanding role as a sanctuary for the oppressed."

The ACLU said previously that it will challenge the policy in a lawsuit.

"The executive order “was illegal when [former President Donald] Trump did it, and it is no less illegal now,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, in a press release.

KJ