Different type of refugee

 While we welcome the reception Ukrainian refugees are given, this forum has also highlighted how different that response has been for other vulnerable peoples. 

The Biden administration has continued to deport asylum-seekers under pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic. The U.S. has since carried out 1.7+ million expulsions, denying people the right to request asylum. The devastating impact has put lives in danger.

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said in a statement that "asylum-seekers have found America's golden doors shamefully slammed shut on them for two years too many."

"As recently as this week, Ukrainians have also been barred from entry, joining Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, El Salvadorians, Brazilians, and Haitians as the victims of this enduring refusal to recognize their dignity and right to seek protection," she noted. She continued, "Despite the president's promises of a humane immigration system, this policy subjects children and families to a litany of horrors in Mexico, including kidnapping, rape, trafficking, torture, and other violent attacks." She added, "It is long past time we live up to our values and legal obligations by welcoming these children, families, and individuals with dignity and due process."

While many rushed to the Ukrainian border to help transport people to Poland and Germany, they would be committing a criminal offence should they pick up someone fleeing from Afghanistan instead. 

 Rather than allowing refugees to apply for asylum once they entered Europe, refugees are pushed back out.