University of Notre Dame Expert Available to Comment on House Bill Regarding Immigration Legislation, Border Safety and Security Act

Erin B. Corcoran, Acting Director and Executive Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Associate Teaching Professor at the Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, is available to respond to any media inquiries or speak to the press about this legislation.

Corcoran has expertise in U.S. immigration law and policy, refugee and asylum law, human trafficking and the protection of vulnerable migrant populations. Prior to Notre Dame, Corcoran served as a resettlement consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lusaka, Zambia; a staff attorney for Human Rights First in Washington, D.C.; and legal counselor to former Senator Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland.

The following quote from Corcoran is available for pick-up: 

“This proposed legislation effectively codifies the Trump Administration’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, which the Biden Administration began rolling back last February. The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy was subject to various legal challenges because it placed asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations at significant risk of serious harm while awaiting to have their refugee claims adjudicated.

“This bill requires that individuals presenting themselves at a border, without proper travel documentation, be detained or returned to their territory of origin to await an immigration hearing. This undermines our nation’s domestic and international legal and moral obligations to provide protection to individuals fleeing persecution and serious harm.”