Republicans tried to do away with refugee asylum claims. Then Miami’s Maria Elvira Salazar spoke up | Opinion

A proposed Republican “border security” plan, now stalled in the U.S. House, is so extreme that even some members of the party, namely Miami-Dade’s Maria Elvira Salazar, have denounced it, saying it jeopardized U.S. asylum laws and the very idea of this nation opening its arms to those fleeing their homelands for humanitarian reasons.

Currently, refugee status or asylum may be granted to people who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

The good news is, HR 29 will not be up for a vote anytime soon and is back in committee. We credit the outspoken pushback of some Republicans, including Salazar, whose district, which includes Virginia Key and Key Biscayne, for decades has been an entry point for those escaping for a better life in America.

Overly harsh

She knows what such a restriction means, and we commend her for speaking up against this bill when South Florida’s other Republican lawmakers, apparently, did not.

Overall, we agree that our immigration laws need reforming, but the bill’s author, a Republican Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, seeks to grant the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the power to prohibit migrants from entering the United States at any point of entry. This would include migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela, all trouble spots crushed by political oppression, political chaos, violence or autocratic leadership.

If passed and sent to the Senate, this bill would mean those asylum seekers with credible claims would not even have a chance to tell their stories to an immigration agent before being turned away.

The rationale seems to be, if you don’t hear their claims, you don’t have to act on them. In other words, hear no evil, and send them back.

But that’s not how America should work. Salazar, the daughter of Cuban refugees, who fled the island to escape communism, knows this.

‘Are we stupid?’

Salazar’s office did not issue a comment about her opposition to HR 29 when the Editorial Board reached out, however, she was quoted in The Washington Post as debate went back and forth in the House last month:

“Are we stupid? Come on. This country was based on good minds. Look at Albert Einstein, we gave him a piece of paper to come in,” Salazar said. “We are letting the Albert Einstein of this modern time slip away.” Such sentiments prevented the harsh bill from reaching the House floor for a vote.

Recently, citing the high number of refugees, Homeland Security is, in fact, turning away immigrants reaching the U.S.-Mexico border and at sea without hearing their asylum claims. This bill would codify the refusal to hear claims.

We agree with Salazar that this bill goes too far. She and fellow Republican congressman Tony Gonzales, of Texas, say the bill undermines asylum laws.

Commend both of them for standing up to their Republican colleagues in the name of the oppressed.

This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 9:25 AM.