Aiming at the expected increase in so-called “rapid deportations” from the US, Mr Türk also criticized the intention to use the Title 42 public health order more in relation to the COVID pandemic than currently now on.
quick deportation
The move would allow for the “rapid deportation to Mexico” of 30,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans each month, the UN’s head of rights insists.
He explained that Title 42 has been used 2.5 million times by US immigration officials at the southern border, to deport people to Mexico or their homeland, without assessing the risks that they have to face when bounced.
The High Commissioner welcomed the expansion of the so-called US humanitarian parole program to include Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan nationals – in addition to Venezuelans.
Asylum and protection
But he stressed that the measure “should not compromise basic human rights, including the right to seek asylum and the right to an individual assessment of the need for protection”.
His call followed from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) called last Friday for the government to rethink and meet international human rights standards.
Mr. Türk stressed that seeking asylum “is a human right, regardless of a person’s origin, immigration status or how they arrive at international borders.”
“These measures appear to be at odds with the prohibition of collective evictions and the principle of non-repudiation,” the commission OHCHR chief said.
Parole has no replacement
He added that limiting humanitarian amnesty to some, “cannot be a substitute for upholding the right of all to seek the protection of their human rights”.
He noted that those most in need of asylum and those in vulnerable situations find it difficult to meet the limited requirements for humanitarian parole, including having a financial sponsor in the United States. .
“We hear a lot about the migration crisis, but in reality it is the migrants who are really in crisis,” said the High Commissioner.
“Instead of vilifying them and depriving them of their long-recognised rights, we should seek to manage migration humanely and safely with full respect for the human rights of every individual. core.”
