GENEVA (11 January 2023) – New border enforcement measures recently announced by the US administration risk undermining
the basic foundations of international human rights and refugee law, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk
warned today.
“The right to seek asylum is a human right, no matter a person’s origin, immigration status, nor how they arrived at an
international border,” said Türk.
“These measures appear to be at variance with the prohibition of collective expulsion and the principle of
non-refoulement,” the UN Human Rights Chief said.
The announced changes include increased use of expedited removals and expansion of the use of the Title 42 public health
order to permit the fast-track expulsion to Mexico of some 30,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans each
month. Title 42 has already been used by US immigration officials some 2.5 million times at the southern border to expel
people to Mexico or their home country without an individualised assessment of all their protection needs accompanied by
due process and procedural safeguards.
At the same time, a “humanitarian parole” programme, which was previously extended to Venezuelans, would be expanded to
include nationals of Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua, allowing some 30,000 individuals per month from these four countries to
come to the US for a limited period of two years with strict conditions for eligibility.
“While I welcome measures to create and expand safe and regular pathways, such initiatives should not come at the
expense of fundamental human rights, including the right to seek asylum and the right to an individual assessment of
protection needs. Limited access to humanitarian parole for some cannot be a replacement for upholding the rights of all
to seek protection of their human rights,” he said, reinforcing the UN Refugee Agency’s concerns.
The High Commissioner also expressed concern that those most in need of asylum and those in vulnerable situations are
unlikely to meet the restrictive requirements to be granted humanitarian parole, including having a financial sponsor in
the USA.
The High Commissioner reiterated his call for the human rights of all refugees and migrants to be respected and
protected at international borders.
“We hear a great deal of talk about migration crises, but in reality, it is those migrating who often are the ones truly
in crisis. Rather than vilifying them and stripping them of long-recognized rights, we should be seeking to govern
migration humanely and safely with full respect for the human rights of every individual.”