• Press Release

Amnesty International USA Reaction to Senate Deal that Guts Asylum Rights

February 5, 2024

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In response to the immigration sections of the recently released funding deal in the U.S. Senate, Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights with Amnesty International USA, made the following statement:

“This cruel deal trades the human rights of immigrants and asylum seekers for foreign military funding, and members of Congress should reject it.

“The immigration measures in this deal are the most extreme anti-immigrant proposals this country has seen in 100 years. From ending the legal right to asylum, to creating unworkable standards that will fail to protect the most vulnerable, to funding to detain 50,000 people and build a border wall, these policies are draconian and antithetical to human rights. These permanent policies will not solve the humanitarian crisis at the border, they will only lead to more suffering, more cruelty, and more death.

“As candidate, Joe Biden vowed to return to humane immigration policies, but as President, he has repeatedly pulled from former President Trump’s playbook of cruelty. It is shameful that he has now joined the ranks of politicians so ready and willing to use migrants as pawns.

“Human rights are not bargaining chips. People have the human right to seek asylum. Senators must not trade away the human rights of immigrants and people seeking safety.”

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