Today, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Cubans and Haitians will not be allowed to reach the United States to seek asylum if traveling by boat. Secretary Mayorkas’s remarks come despite both Cubans and Haitians facing acute economic, political, and public health crises in their countries. Administrations in the United States have tried to use cruel deterrence-based policies since President Regan, and not only have they never worked, they often result in family separations. Experts also noted that the United States has a troubling history of interdicting people seeking protection at sea and of sending Haitians to Guantanamo Bay. Former asylum-seekers, advocates, and experts responded:

After a campaign to free Maura, a 41-year-old transgender woman from Nicaragua, generated over 14,000 emails to the ICE San Diego Field Office, the Department of Homeland Security agency has …

Over 130 human rights, humanitarian, immigration and women’s rights organizations called on President Biden, the Department of Homeland Security, the Domestic Policy Council, the National Security Agency, and the Department …