The United States would be violating its legal obligations if it goes ahead with reported plans to deny asylum rights to people fleeing violence in Central America, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2018) The United States would be violating its legal obligations if it goes ahead with reported plans to deny asylum rights to people fleeing violence in Central America, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday."Any policies adopted by the United States that result in returning people fleeing violence in Central America to persecution or torture would violate US obligations," HRW said in a statement. "President Donald Trump is expected to announce an executive order on October 30, 2018 that will reportedly use various methods to block people fleeing violence from accessing asylum in the US."
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the White House could issue an executive order suspending the right to seek asylum in the United States for Central American migrants fleeing prosecution at home. The possible move comes as a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants makes its way through Mexico toward the US border.
HRW noted that although the caravan includes thousands of migrants, their arrival to the US border would not boost the monthly average of migrant arrivals to the country.
"The migrant caravan is not increasing the flow in total numbers, but people told me that joining it was the safest way to escape. Traveling mostly on foot, with children, is dangerous and exhausting, and they hope for safety in numbers during the journey," senior US researcher at HRW Clara Long said.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced that it would deploy more than 5,200 active-duty soldiers to the southwestern border with Mexico to protect against the migrant caravan approaching from Central America.
