Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today members of the #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign held a press call to discuss the Trump administration’s first set of executive actions that eviscerate pathways to safety and inflict enormous cruelty on refugees fleeing danger. These include the suspension of asylum processing at the southern border, a ban on refugee resettlement, the cancellation of thousands of CBP One appointments, and the administration’s promise to reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy.

“The impact of these executive actions is astounding and devastating for our communities,” said Robyn Barnard, Senior Director of Refugee Advocacy at Human Rights First. “None of this is designed to improve the functioning of our immigration system. In fact it will have the opposite impact, and the ripple effect on every aspect of the functioning of our country, our foreign policy, our national security, and our day to day lives will be dire.”

“The Termination of CBP One and the CHNV parole program clearly prove that this administration is not interested in regular migration,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director at Haitian Bridge Alliance. “And many seeking protection will die.”

“The executive actions announced this week revive several failed asylum policies from Trump’s first term and dial up the racism, cruelty, and illegality,” said Melissa Crow, Director of Litigation at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). “These measures will cause untold harm and suffering to refugees and immigrants at the southern border, in our communities, and across the globe. They will do absolutely nothing to improve our immigration system or keep any of us safe. Border shutdowns and asylum bans have only ever created more chaos, dysfunction, and pain. We will use every tool at our disposal to challenge these brazen attempts to rewrite our laws and erase the rights of people seeking safety.”

“Learning that Remain in Mexico might come back brings back a lot of fear for me. Because the things that people went through, the things that I went through, and the things that kids and women went through are not things that are to be taken lightly,” said Ray Rodriguez, a former professor from Cuba who received asylum and was previously subjected to the Remain Mexico policy. “I thought we had learned from the fact that Remain in Mexico was inhumane to the core.”

“The objective of the Trump administration’s policies is to cause fear to immigrants and their families, defying our moral and legal obligations to asylum seekers, migrants, and immigrants,” said Margaret Cargioli, Directing Attorney, Policy and Advocacy, at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. “The Trump administration won the election, but the American people did not vote to undo our Constitution and end due process in immigration court through cruel policies. We need everyone who believes in humane immigration policies to protect their immigrant families and neighbors and let your representatives know that you expect them to stand for the U.S. Constitution and humanity towards immigrants.”

“President Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. resettlement program indefinitely leaves a dark stain on our nation’s history,” said John Slocum, Executive Director of Refugee Council USA. “This is a refugee ban, plain and simple. It betrays our American values of compassion and welcome, grinding refugee resettlement to a halt and leaving countless refugees stranded and families separated. The cruelty of this executive order is compounded by the administration’s overnight implementation of the refugee ban, canceling refugee flights for those booked to arrive in the United States five days before the executive order’s stated effective date of January 27. RCUSA stands shoulder-to-shoulder with refugees and vulnerable people fleeing violence and persecution around the world. We urge our elected officials to call for a rescission of this refugee ban and hold the administration accountable to operate the U.S. resettlement program in good faith – because everyone deserves a safe place to call home.”

The #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign for asylum rights is composed of more than 125 organizations committed to transforming the way the United States receives and protects people forced to flee their homes to ensure they are treated humanely and fairly. To learn more about what we stand for, visit us online: https://wwdignity.org/solutions; to request an interview with an experts from the #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign, visit us here: welcomewithdignity.org