The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is sounding off about a Biden administration proposal that is designed to add a layer of border control to the U.S. immigration policy.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have proposed an asylum transit ban that will punish asylum seekers who enter the country illegally or who fail to seek protection in countries they pass through on their way to the United States.

“We appreciate the Administration’s desire to expand lawful pathways to the United States, especially through increased refugee processing, but that should not occur at the expense of vulnerable persons urgently seeking protection at our border,” Mark Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said in a release. “Above all, the sanctity of human life remains paramount.”

This proposed policy is being called one of the strictest border control measures to date under any U.S. president so far by the American Immigration Council (AIC) said.

The regulation would apply to all immigrants who are not from Mexico (except for unaccompanied minors), unless they have already been pre-approved through one of the parole programs established by the Biden administration, which are presently restricted to certain individuals from five nations, according to the American Immigration Council. To comply with the rule, immigrants must either pre-register at a port of entry using CBP One or a comparable scheduling system (or, if they are unable to access the system, arrive at a port of entry and prove it); or have been denied asylum in a transit country, the AIC said.

The bishops said the plan raises questions.

"We are deeply troubled by this proposal, which perpetuates the misguided notion that heavy-handed enforcement measures are a viable solution to increased migration and forced displacement. Decades of similar approaches have demonstrated otherwise,” Seitz, who serves as bishop in El Paso, continued in the release. "While recognizing our country’s right to maintain its borders, my brother bishops and I have consistently rejected policies that weaken asylum access for those most in need of relief and expose them to further danger. Because that is the likely result of this proposal, we strongly oppose its implementation."