Washington - HIAS – the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society – calls on Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) to rescind its new policy that makes it more
difficult for non-criminal asylum seekers to be released from the jails
and jail-like facilities used by the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). The new policy will not only increase detention costs to
taxpayers, but will also further traumatize those who fled persecution
in their homelands to seek asylum and freedom in the United States.

“While we endorse the need for careful controls to ensure public
safety and national security, HIAS believes that DHS should be willing
to consider parole for those asylum seekers who are known, have
community ties, and aren’t a danger to society,” says Gideon Aronoff,
HIAS president and CEO.

In a policy directive dated November 6, 2007, Assistant Secretary
Julie Myers of ICE – the enforcement arm of DHS – establishes
additional barriers for detained asylum applicants seeking to be
released from detention while awaiting a decision on their asylum
application. The new policy, which purportedly seeks to ensure
transparency and consistency in ICE decisions on the parole requests of
asylum seekers, contradicts HIAS’ longstanding position on this issue.

The new policy also subverts recommendations made by the bipartisan
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on asylum
seekers in expedited removal. The February 2005 study found that DHS
routinely detained asylum seekers under inappropriate conditions and
was wildly inconsistent in applying its policy of favoring release for
those who establish identity and pose neither a flight nor security
risk. The Commission adopted a recommendation long urged by HIAS: that
ICE more consistently apply its policy favoring the release of asylum
seekers who meet those criteria.

In the new directive, ICE continues to require that asylum seekers
meet the existing criteria, but now most asylum seekers who meet those
requirements will only be released in the event of pregnancy, serious
health issues, or if they are juveniles. Release of other applicants
who meet the criteria shall be done only on an exceptional basis, when
the ICE authorities document and provide a “well-reasoned
justification” that their release would be “in the public interest.”

“This new directive shows that ICE is at least aware of the
Commission’s recommendations,” said Aronoff. “But the Commission
recommended that ICE codify existing parole criteria to make it less
likely that legitimate asylum seekers who don’t pose a flight risk are
detained. Instead, ICE has developed new and harsher criteria that
make it more likely that victims of persecution will continue to be
detained for even longer periods.”

Jewish history and the Jewish community are committed to welcoming
the stranger and rescuing refugees. This tradition, combined with the
fundamental Jewish principle of Piddyon Shevuyim (redemption
of the captive) compels HIAS to speak out against this incredible
injustice. “When legitimate asylum seekers—people fleeing bloody,
horrible conditions in their home countries—arrive in the United States
they are shell-shocked from their life experiences,” says Aronoff. “Yet
when they reach our shores, they are treated like criminals. This is
unacceptable. We have an obligation to treat asylum seekers with
dignity, fairness, and respect as they seek refuge in our country.”