US President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies are building on former President Barack Obama’s efforts to deter asylum seekers from coming into the United States, Kino Border Initiative Director of Education and Advocacy, Joanna Williams, told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Thursday, Human Rights First reported that a newly-released audio recording proves that US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents are illegally turning away asylum seekers. The audio clip supports allegations in a court complaint the American Immigration Council filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier this week.

"In the midst of the Trump administration we forget… the lengths to which the [Obama] administration went to try to stop vulnerable families, individuals, [and] children from seeking asylum," Williams stated on Friday. "An example of that would be that it was the Obama administration that restarted family detention."

Williams claimed that Trump’s executive orders on immigration, however, have only exacerbated the problem, evidenced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents improperly rejecting asylum seekers and a spike in the prosecution of illegal immigrants, including first time offenders.

"What we’re seeing more and more of is that ICE is refusing to use their discretion to parole people, even in serious situations," Williams explained. "A lot of asylum seekers… came with families [but] their parole requests are being denied across the country. That’s been one of the biggest differences that we’ve noticed."

A majority of immigrants seeking asylum are migrating from Central America, however, Mexican immigrants have sought asylum as well after a recent spike in violence by criminal organizations in the country, Williams stated.

"There’s compelling well documented evidence of what’s happening, the hope is that there will be what’s called an injunction order to stop the CBP officers from what they’re doing at the ports," Williams stated.

On Thursday, a US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) spokesperson told Sputnik that the agency would not comment on matters related to "pending litigation," when asked about allegations on illegally turning away asylum seekers.

The Border Patrol reported on Thursday that some 565 first-time illegal Mexico border crossers have been criminally prosecuted in the first 30 days of the Trump administration’s policy designed to make a corridor that goes through the US state of Arizona less desirable to cross.

The Kino Border Initiative is a bi-national organization seeking to respond to the needs of migrants through humanitarian aid, education, and research and advocacy.