Washington Roundup: Expanded asylum restrictions; refugee resettlement; former first lady on abortion

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President Joe Biden expanded restrictions on asylum that immigration officials cite as behind a dramatic decrease in illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, praised other efforts to resettle refugees.

On the campaign trail, former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, also the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, joined Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, to make a pitch to Republican voters who may be dissatisfied with their own party’s presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump. Trump is scheduled to campaign Oct. 5 in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he survived an attempted assassination in July.

Meanwhile, a pro-life group pushed back on comments made by former first lady Melania Trump, who expressed support for abortion in her new book. And a new Marquette Law School Poll survey of a key swing state found Harris slightly leading Trump among both registered voters and likely voters.

Biden administration expands asylum restrictions at the southern border

The move extends a previous executive order in June aimed at reducing unauthorized border crossings by asylum-seekers. Both actions come as Democrats face increasing political pressure on the issue of migration in the midst of the presidential campaign, from which Biden withdrew in July.

The initial restriction was described as temporary, but the extended order — now contingent on the seven-day average of daily illegal border crossing remaining under 1,500 for 28 straight days, instead of seven straight days — will keep the restriction in place indefinitely.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, “This Administration has taken new and innovative steps to provide humanitarian relief to individuals in need so that they do not have to migrate irregularly at tremendous peril, in the hands of the ruthless and powerful smuggling organizations. This Administration, with its international partners, has built safe mobility offices, increased refugee processing, built new labor pathways, provided new humanitarian relief processes, and increased family reunification.”

“Yet, these efforts, impactful as they have been, are no substitute for Congressional action,” he said.” We cannot provide the greater and more enduring systemic changes that America’s broken immigration system desperately needs because only Congress can do that.”

But Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, argued in a statement, “The latest restrictions on asylum processing at the border by the Biden-Harris administration demonstrate an alarming absence of moral compass.”

“Factoring in the arrival of children to deny asylum processing to other vulnerable people is troubling,” Corbett said. “We call on the Biden-Harris administration to urgently reverse course by fully restoring access to asylum at our border and to acknowledge the lives and dreams of those we call neighbors at our US-Mexico border.”

Bishop Seitz calls refugee resettlement part of church’s consistent ethic of life

Bishop Seitz praised Biden’s recent Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2025, which set the number of people who can be resettled through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, or USRAP, at 125,000, a similar target to the previous year.

“My brother bishops and I could not be more grateful for the witness of faithful Catholics across our country who have, for many decades now, committed themselves to accompanying refugees as a visible sign of Christ’s love in the world,” Bishop Seitz said Oct. 2.

Through its Department of Migration and Refugee Services, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is one of 10 national resettlement agencies partnering with the federal government on USRAP. Bishop Seitz noted that Catholic organizations play a key role in refugee resettlement.

“Having just joined our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the Universal Church in marking the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, what better time to give thanks to God for the reciprocal blessings exchanged through these efforts?” he said. “From life-saving protection for refugee families, to the economic renewal they offer receiving communities, this is part of what it means to ‘love thy neighbor.’”

Bishop Seitz added that Respect Life Month, observed in October, is a time to “recognize this as one of the many ways in which the consistency of the Church’s concern for the sanctity of human life manifests itself.”

“Resettling 100,000 refugees is a significant achievement, given the all-time low number seen in 2021 and some of the challenges facing American communities at this time, including a nationwide shortage of affordable housing,” he said. “We appreciate the efforts undertaken by the Biden Administration in recent years to reassert and grow our nation’s proud tradition of welcoming refugees. This would not be possible without the bipartisan support of Congress, which has played a vital role in the success of the resettlement program since its inception.”

“Guided by the Gospel and faithful to our national values,” he added, “the U.S. Catholic community will continue doing its part to carry this endeavor forward.”

Trump says he would revoke protected status for Haitian migrants

Trump said Oct. 2 if reelected he would revoke the legal status of Haitian migrants in the U.S. and deport them.

“Absolutely I’d revoke it, and I’d bring them back to their country,” Trump told NewsNation.

At a Sept. 10 debate, Trump repeated the viral, unverified claims — refuted by local authorities — about Haitian migrants, a largely Catholic population, living in the city of Springfield, Ohio, that accused them of abducting pets and eating them. His running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, has also repeated those same claims.

Most of the Haitian population in Springfield are legally in the U.S. under the federal government’s Temporary Protected Status program, sometimes called TPS. That status is sometimes granted to those who are legally authorized to be in the U.S who need humanitarian relief from what the U.S. government designates as undue hardship in their home countries.

That same temporary status was also granted to some Ukrainians in the U.S. amid Russia’s unprovoked invasion of their home country.

Cheney campaigns with Harris while Trump scheduled to return to Butler

Cheney, who became a staunch Trump critic in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building — the day 2,000 supporters of then-President Trump attempted to block Congress’ certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory — and amid her subsequent work as one of just two Republicans on a panel investigating events surrounding that day, argued Oct. 3 that Trump’s actions to try and thwart Biden’s certification should disqualify him from a second term in the White House.

In remarks in Ripon, Wisconsin, considered the birthplace of the Republican Party, Cheney touted her resume as a Republican — including stints in both Bush administrations and time as the No. 3 Republican in the House — before she was defeated in a 2022 primary election by a Trump ally, Cheney said she was choosing to support a Democrat in Harris this cycle as a matter of putting “country over party.”

“We are bound together by the one thing that matters to us as Americans more than any other, and that’s our duty to our Constitution and our belief in the miracle and the blessing of this incredible nation,” Cheney.

Harris praised Cheney as a leader and said her endorsement carries “special significance” because of their policy disagreements.

“The president of the United States must not look at our country through the narrow lens of ideology or petty partisanship or self-interest,” Harris said.

On the other side of the aisle, Trump is scheduled to make a significant campaign appearance on Oct. 5, returning to the Butler rally site where he survived an assassination attempt in July, his first visit to Butler since a bullet struck his ear.

Guests at the rally will include family members of Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter who was killed as he sought to shield family members from the now-deceased shooter, the Trump campaign said.

Pro-life group responds to Melania Trump abortion comments

A pro-life group pushed back after Melania Trump revealed her support for abortion in a promotional video ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir.

In a video posted to her X account Oct. 3, the former first lady said she supported women’s “individual freedoms” to do what they want with their bodies. The message comes as Trump has sought to distance himself from the issue of abortion, saying he would veto a federal ban as president and arguing the matter should be legislated by individual states.

“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard,” Melania Trump said in the video. “Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?”

The Guardian reported an excerpt from her book states: “A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America responded in a series of posts on X that “we must create a culture that encourages life and puts a stop to coercion — and show compassion for the child in the womb.”

“Women with unplanned pregnancies are crying out for more resources, not more abortions, the group said.

Trump told Fox News he supported his wife expressing her views in her book.

“We spoke about it. And I said, you have to write what you believe. I’m not going to tell you what to do. You have to write what you believe,” Trump told Fox News’ Bill Melugin.

Marquette poll shows Harris leading in a key swing state

The Oct. 2 Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin found Harris leading Trump 52%-48% in head-to-head matchups among both registered voters and likely voters in the Badger State.

When third-party candidates were included, Harris maintained a 4 percentage point lead over Trump, 48%-44%, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his independent bid for president but whose name will remain on the state’s presidential ballot, received 3%, while a handful of other third-party candidates received small shares of support, including Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Constitution Party candidate Randall Terry, both at 1%.

The Jesuit school’s poll surveys voters in Wisconsin, a key battleground state that supported Trump in 2016, which helped send him to the White House, but later supported Biden in 2020.

Biden said he will answer Pope Francis’ call to fast and pray Oct. 7

Pope Francis recently called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace on Oct. 7, the first anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel and the start of an ensuing conflict in Gaza.

In a surprise appearance before reporters in the White House briefing room Oct. 4, Biden touted a strong monthly jobs report. In response to a shouted question for his reaction to that call from the pontiff, Biden replied, “I will (pray) and fast.”

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @kgscanlon.

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