July 16, 2020
KIND called on EOIR and DHS to withdraw a proposed rule that would make it virtually impossible for unaccompanied children and other asylum-seekers to receive full and fair consideration of their protection claims or obtain protection to which they are entitled.
RE: RIN 1125-AA94, EOIR Docket No. 18-0002, Public Comment Opposing Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on “Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review” (Collection of Information OMB Control Number 1615-0067)
Dear Ms. Alder Reid:
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) submits the following comments in response to the above Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review, published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) (collectively, the “agencies”) on June 15, 2020 at 85 FR 36264 (the “Proposed Rule”). While we focus our comments on those issues most affecting the unaccompanied children we serve, we object to the rule as a whole, which is a systemic attack on asylum in the United States. We describe in detail below some of the many infirmities of the rule, noting in particular its failure to adhere to U.S. law and international treaty obligations, as well as specific statutory protections accorded to unaccompanied minors in the asylum context.
