In a recent court filing, the United Nations refugee agency condemned the rulings of Donald Trump’s administration that limits the asylum claims. The agency said that this goes against the US’ international obligations.

Trump’s administration had received a lot of flak for its anti-immigrant policies. It had implemented a series of regulations that had put tighter restrictions on asylum seekers. Thursday’s policy will consider a policy that would ban people who illegally cross the US-Mexico border from claiming asylum outside of official ports of entry.

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In its amicus brief, the UN refugee agency said the policy “reflects a substantial change to United States asylum policy that, if implemented, would be at variance with three binding international law protections.”

Trump administration had implemented a new rule in 2018 that barred the illegal entry on the southern US border. The agency said that the policy contradicts the 1967 Protocol and the 1951 convention that ensures the protection of refugees.

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“Parties may not use border management as a means to deter refugees from seeking asylum or to deny protection to whole classes of asylum-seekers, as many individual class members will have valid claims to protection as refugees under the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol,” the agency added.

Since the coronavirus pandemic, rules have become even more stringent. The administration had removed migrants including children who were arrested at the US-Mexico border citing a public health law.

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Earlier, Trump had also said that he would implement the Merit-based immigration system. According to this, only 10% of all Green Card recipients would be given Green Cards on humanitarian grounds.

Human rights advocates feel that the system would end up being preferential favouring the privileged. Expressing its concerns about the new policy, the human rights group Amnesty International had said that this system would shut the door towards asylum seekers.