Nickole Miller is a clinical teaching fellow with the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law.
The ability to seek asylum from persecution is a core human right enshrined in international and domestic law. Nonetheless, the Trump administration quietly announced a new set of rules last week aimed at permanently gutting protections for asylum seekers. With the election just a few months away, President Trump knows animus toward immigrants is an effective tool to rally his base. And with the country currently distracted by a global pandemic and a fight for racial justice, these new rules could soon become law.