Nationwide Rapid Deportations, Evisceration of Asylum Protections Reportedly on the Table in White House Negotiations
Media outlets are reporting that President Biden is willing to support the creation of a nationwide program through which immigrants around the country would face immediate deportation and expulsion without any due process. This is just one of several extreme policies the administration has signaled it would support to secure Ukraine funding. Others include changes to immigration law that would effectively restrict access to asylum for thousands of people who in fact have the right to seek safety in the United States – sending them back to violence, persecution and death.
National Immigrant Justice Center Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy issued the following statement in response to these reports:
“The National Immigrant Justice Center unequivocally condemns the Biden administration for considering extreme, anti-immigrant measures, including nationwide fast-tracked deportations, as a concession for Ukraine funding in spending negotiations.
“President Biden must take a stand against political games in the name of moral clarity and basic human rights. Black, Brown, and Indigenous immigrant communities must not be a bargaining chip. Overdue changes to the U.S. immigration system must be made in a responsible and well-considered policy-making manner, instead of through rapid negotiations that undermine rights and exacerbate humanitarian challenges on the ground. Continuing these negotiations risks the president securing his legacy as the administration that compromised the United States’ role as a safe haven for refugees and left immigrant community members vulnerable to massive deportation roundups.
“NIJC stands alongside nearly 200 other civil society organizations in calling on the Biden administration to reverse course and embrace policies that welcome immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.”
To learn more about the impact of the policy changes to the U.S. immigration system that the White House is considering, read NIJC's explainer.