“The administration is using every cheap trick in the book to put people in danger. By empowering ICE to summarily deport members of our communities, the president is pandering to his anti-immigrant base, nothing more. But the impact of an immigration policy rooted in hate cannot be understated: Families will be ripped apart, our neighbors will be torn from their homes, and innocent human beings will be returned to danger,” said Reverend John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service. “The United States is meant to be a nation of laws and of morals, but under this leadership we are neither.”
Asylum
Learn about the journey many Black Africans make to the U.S. to escape persecution–and the journey some are forced to make back via deportation via this recording from National African Immigrant Heritage Month.
Over 1,000 faith leaders from forty-three states, including WI, MI, PA, NC, and the District of Columbia sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Senior Official Tony Pham, and the U.S. Congress calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to “release Binsar [Siahaan] from detention immediately and allow him to proceed with his asylum case.”
1,038 faith leaders sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Senior Official Tony Pham, and the U.S. Congress calling for ICE to “release Binsar from detention immediately and allow him to proceed with his asylum case.” They also demand a statement from ICE “clarifying and assuring that it will adhere to its own policies and will not enter houses of worship or other sensitive locations such as hospitals, schools, and public religious ceremonies or demonstrations.”
The Trump administration is proposing another historic low refugee admissions goal of 15,000 for FY 2021, according to the administration’s report to Congress. The administration violated U.S. law by not consulting with Congress on its refugee admissions goal before the start of the new fiscal year, and failing to sign a formal refugee admissions goal, also known as a “Presidential Determination” or PD, before the statutory deadline. This means that the resettlement program has ground to a halt, leaving refugees in harm’s way. Each day that resettlement is paused is a matter of life and death for the thousands of refugees waiting to rebuild their lives.