Barr's Decision On Asylum Seekers' Detention Way To Intimidate Them - US Advocacy Group

NEW YORK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2019) The ruling of US Attorney General William Barr to keep asylum seekers in detention centers while they await court decisions is intimidating, New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Steven Choi said in a statement.

"Attorney General Barr's decision is basically the next step of the infamous 'zero tolerance' policy," Choi said on Wednesday. "This move is clearly meant to intimidate asylum seekers and undermine their right to due process and protections."

Choi said in the statement that asylum seekers who come to the United States should be protected rather than subjected to inhumane detention.

On Tuesday, Barr revoked the right of asylum seekers entering the United States illegally to ask to be released on bond from detention centers. The ruling will be put into effect in 90 days.

Amnesty International reported in October that more than 6,000 families were forcibly separated as a result of the US immigration policy.

Since 2017, an estimated 8,000 asylum-seeking families have been broken up, the recently published report from the Health and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General said.