The Biden Administration is "on a cliff," warn 39 organizations that defend immigrants.
The consequences on the treatment of immigrants from Haiti by the Border Patrol, as well as asylum seekers, are just beginning for the government of President Joe Biden , to whom 39 human and civil rights organizations warned that his legacy "is in a cliff ”.
"The violent expulsions of Haitians and asylum seekers are shaping Biden's legacy," the organizations said in a letter sent to the White House.
Activists and experts consider that the Biden Administration is at a "turning point" regarding the implementation of a just immigration policy, as promoted by the president during his campaign.
"In recent weeks, his administration has violated asylum rights and refugee laws enacted by Congress and adopted policies that inflict cruelty on black, brown and indigenous immigrant communities," they accuse. "We fear that the commitments made in the electoral campaign ... are being destroyed before our eyes."
Experts remind President Biden of his commitment to upholding America's national and international legal obligation to asylum, in addition to ending privatized detention and de-linking federal immigration law enforcement from local law enforcement .
It adds that the Administration of President Donald Trump tried to close the southern border to those fleeing persecution, some policies of which the current government defends.
"Rather than repudiate those policies and that approach, your Administration is aggressively defending the expulsion policy in court, even after a District court ruled it was illegal," they say. "The responsibility for the suffering and deaths resulting from the summary expulsions and removals now rests squarely with his Administration and will be part of his legacy."
The letter notes that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expelling immigrants expeditiously and mentions the case of Haitians, who flee a country with security problems and natural disasters.
"These flights (of expulsions) confirm our fears that your Administration, like its predecessors, is using harsh and illegal policies to try to dissuade people, particularly black immigrants, from seeking refuge at the border," they accuse. . "His administration has promised to uphold the principles of racial equity, but it is unleashing immigration policies steeped in racism."
ICE contracts
Immigrant advocates also criticize the Biden Administration for maintaining the policy of incarceration against immigrants and that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency maintains contracts with private companies.
" Detainees in the extensive network of jails and prisons of ICE suffer sexual abuse, harassment and homophobia and transphobia, in addition to medical negligence, " they warn. "His arrest is motivated by economic incentives and political calculations, rather than a legitimate or evidence-based purpose."
Among the demands, the experts call for "restoring access to asylum at ports of entry", in addition to ending the expulsion order imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), known as Title 42, and issue a new termination memorandum for the Migrant Protection or "Remain in Mexico" Protocols.
"His Administration must end its reliance on incarceration for immigration processing and, instead, must commit to working with social and legal service providers," they considered.
Signatories to the letter include Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); Benjamin Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Council; Karen Musalo, director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies.
In addition to Angelica Salas, executive director of the Immigrant Human Rights Coalition; Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance; Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch; Margaret Huang, executive director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, among other groups recognized for their work on behalf of civil and immigrant rights.