The Florida Immigrant Coalition is condemning the Trump administration’s decision to implement an abrupt shutdown of asylum protections and a sweeping halt on immigration from developing countries.
In a statement, the Coalition called the administration’s actions "yet another step in a long-running campaign to dismantle every pathway — formal, lawful, and humanitarian—that allows Black and Brown immigrants to come to the United States safely."
It is urging Congress to “reject these reckless actions and demand policies rooted in humanity, legality, and truth—not fear or opportunism.”
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The coalition argues that the administration is not interested in creating orderly or legal processes for migrants, but rather in blocking access based on origin.
“For years, we have heard the phrase 'people should come the right way'. Yet, these actions make it clear that this administration does not want to establish legal pathways either,” said Tessa Petit, Executive Director at FLIC, in a statement on Monday.
“By shutting down asylum access, suspending immigration from developing nations, and restricting visas from regions whose populations are overwhelmingly Black and Brown, the administration is signaling that the issue is not process—it is people.”
The Coalition accused the administration of using the "regrettable and tragic shooting of two National Guard members as a political weapon to justify extreme restrictions that have nothing to do with the facts of that incident."
Since last week's shooting of two National Guard members in the nation’s capital by a suspect who is an Afghan national, the Trump administration announced a flurry of policies aimed at making it harder for some foreigners to enter or stay in the country.
The administration said it was pausing asylum decisions, reexamining green card applications for people from countries "of concern” and halting visas for Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort.
Days before the shooting, a memo obtained by The Associated Press said the administration would review the cases of all refugees who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration.
The stepped up effort to restrict immigration has been harshly criticized by refugee advocates and those who work with Afghans, saying it amounts to collective punishment.
Critics are also saying it is a waste of government resources to reopen cases that have already been processed.
The Trump administration says the new policies are necessary to ensure that those entering the country — or are already here — do not pose a security threat.
The director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said on the social platform X last week that asylum decisions will be paused “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Besides the post, no formal guidance has been put forward, so details remain scarce about the planned pause.
People seeking asylum must show to U.S. officials a threat of persecution if they were sent back to their home country, whether because of race, nationality or other grounds. If they're granted asylum, they're allowed to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for a green card and then citizenship.
The Afghan suspect in the National Guard shooting was granted asylum earlier this year, according to advocate group #AfghanEvac.
Even before the shooting of two National Guard members, the Trump administration was planning a sweeping review of tens of thousands of immigrants who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration as part of the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program.
That program, first launched in 1980, oversees the process by which people fleeing persecution can come to the U.S.
Refugees are distinct from people seeking asylum, although they meet the same criteria. Refugees have to apply and wait outside the U.S. to be admitted while asylum-seekers do so once they reach the U.S.
Trump suspended the refugee program the day he took office and only a trickle of refugees have been admitted since then, either white South Africans or people admitted as part of a lawsuit seeking to restart the refugee program.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
