The government continues to use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for denying asylum-seekers and other migrants entry into the United States, says a new report.

Hundreds of immigration, civil rights and faith-based advocacy groups sent a letter to AG William Barr asking for immediate changes in the criminal prosecution of migrants.

Many immigrants are too afraid to seek healthcare due to strict laws and an increased presence of ICE officials, say advocates.

The Trump administration convinced a three-judge panel that suspending the Migrant Protection Protocols program would endanger national security and might “increase the risk of outbreak from the new coronavirus.”

Alvaro M. Huerta of the National Immigration Law Center: “Today’s decision is a tremendous victory for communities everywhere fighting courageously to uphold human dignity.”