Amnesty International strongly urges President Biden to take swift action before his term ends to protect immigrants and people seeking safety in the United States.
With just a few months left before President-elect Trump takes office, President Biden must show moral leadership in ensuring that the rights of immigrant communities across the country are safeguarded.
As President Biden prepares to cement his legacy, Amnesty International calls on him to act within the full power of his office to protect immigrants and refugee communities and prevent any future administration from upending communities through mass deportations and inflicting cruelty on those who arrive to our borders to seek safety.
“Time and time again, President Biden said he was committed to a humane immigration system, and this is final opportunity to help those coming to the United States in search of safety and a new beginning, like his ancestors did many years ago,” said Paul O’Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. “President Biden must use the power of the pen to protect those seeking sanctuary from the coming deportation machine that will crush the human rights of our immigrant neighbors and those who have dreams of finding refuge here.”
Amnesty International urges the Biden administration to:
- Take bold action to protect immigrant communities already in the U.S., particularly by expanding protections through new Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure designations, processing re-parole for communities that have been paroled into the United States, and expanding legal pathways and protections for Dreamers and farmworkers. Prioritize additional resources for USCIS to address the long backlogs and issue protections for those who have applications pending for asylum, TPS, work permits, DACA, advanced parole, etc.
- Stop detention expansion efforts, shut down the most problematic detention centers that have long perpetuated violence and harm toward people seeking safety, and release vulnerable individuals and those who are eligible for TPS and parole.
The first term of President-elect Trump was marked by bigotry and hatred toward immigrants and people seeking safety, a sentiment that carried through his campaign for a second term. This included xenophobic and racist comments about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, Venezuelans in Aurora, Colorado, and other communities in the United States.
“President-elect Trump already has plans in place to start a massive deportation effort and completely gut the very foundation of asylum on day one of his second term. There simply is no time to lose,” said Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA. “We cannot allow the continued disintegration of the country’s immigration system and the targeted rhetoric and violence toward people seeking safety at the border and new arrivals thriving in cities and towns across the United States.”
Amnesty International will continue to document human rights abuses, advocate for the human rights of all immigrants in the United States, and hold government officials accountable.
“Some of these actions that President Biden must take will help slow down any mass deportation efforts and will send a strong message to people seeking safety that they are welcome in the United States,” Fischer added. “This is his last chance.”
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