“美 피난처 시스템, 불법이민에 악용…트럼프가 옳았다” CNN 진행자

난민들을 수용하는 ‘피난처 시스템'(Asylum System)이 미국에서 논쟁이 되는 가운데, 유명 시사정보 프로그램 진행자가 “트럼프의 말이 맞다”고 시인해 눈길을 끌었다. 미국의 피난처 시스템이 원래 취지와는 다르게 악용되면서 사실상 붕괴됐다는 트럼프의 주장에 힘이 실렸다. /편집부

CNN host Fareed Zakaria said on his show Sunday, June 30, that although he takes no pleasure in saying so, he believes President Trump is right about the fact that the asylum system is broken and being abused.

This is a surprising admission, given that CNN has been extremely critical of Trump’s handling of the border crisis.

“Given President Trump’s mean-spirited and often bigoted attitudes on immigration, it pains me to say this, but he is right that the United States faces a crisis with its asylum system,” said Zakaria.

Most Democrats have also been critical of Trump’s handling of the border crisis.

During the first democratic presidential debate, the candidates were asked about immigration reform but focused their answers on generalizations, including reuniting families who had been separated at the border. Some even used the phrase, “comprehensive immigration reform” but did not give specifics of how to stop the flow of migrants.

Senator Cory Booker [D-N.J.] got into some specifics of the debate when he said he would make sure his administration ends ICE policies, reinstates DACA, and addresses the root cause of why migrants are fleeing violence by investing in their countries.

Zakaria noted that the murder rates in Central American countries, that are home to a majority of asylum seekers, have been cut in half in recent years.

Regarding the asylum system, President Trump stated in May, ”We must also restore the integrity of our broken asylum system. Our nation has a proud history of affording protection to those fleeing government persecutions. Unfortunately, legitimate asylum seekers are being displaced by those lodging frivolous claims—these are frivolous claims—to gain admission into our country.”

“The rules surrounding asylum are vague, lax, and being gamed,” confirmed Zakaria.

Zakaria stated that immigration courts received 162,000 asylum claims in 2018, a 240 percent increase from 2014. According to him, a backlog of more than 300,000 asylum claims are pending.

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See the full conversation on GPS, at 10 am and 1 pm ET Sunday on @CNN pic.twitter.com/9KGgACLq1l

— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) June 22, 2019

Republican Senator Ted Cruz had tough words for Congress while speaking recently at a press conference on the southern border.

‘This is a crisis—and unfortunately, this is a man-made crisis. The responsibility for this crisis lies directly on the United States Congress. On loopholes that Congress has put into law that are encouraging far too many people to make this arduous journey.”

The senator noted that now about 50 percent of the adult male immigrants are traveling with children who are being used as a “get out of jail free card” for adults who know they will be released if they are traveling with children.

“These looser criteria coupled with the reality that this is a safe way to enter the U.S. have made the asylum system easy to abuse,” Zakaria repeating what Trump and other Republicans have been saying for some time now.

Zakaria clarified for the audience that asylum was originally designed to help people fleeing regimes where they face persecution by their governments. But the standard broadened over the years to include fears of street violence and domestic abuse threats.

“The criteria for asylum need to be rewritten and substantially tightened. The number of courts and officials dealing with asylum must be massively expanded. People should not be able to use asylum claims as a way to work in America,” concluded Zakaria.