Washington, DC – Repeal and strengthen, heal and transform. “This is the path to a new paradigm for U.S. immigration policy, one that centers human dignity rather than repression, coercion, and control,” said Peniel Ibe, Policy Engagement Coordinated with the American Friends Service Committee and Co-Director of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition.
“This requires boldness. It requires an investment of political capital. It requires leadership–leadership we know President Biden and Vice-President Harris are capable of. Now is the time for the Biden administration to be bold and not only make good on its promises, but reach further and higher to completely transform the way our government approaches immigration. If we are fighting the same attacks on our communities, then we are yet to truly experience the campaign and inauguration promises that were made. We need more than an introduction of legislation, we need more than a creation of a task force–we need an unapologetic commitment to protecting all immigrant communities through every pathway available,” she added.
Since the transition period, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition has been calling on the Biden administration to repeal Trump administration policies that dehumanize migrants; strengthen U.S. refugee, asylum, and immigration processes to make them fairer than ever; heal the traumas the U.S. government caused, to the extent possible, by reuniting families separated through border policies, detentions, deportations, and xenophobic bans; and work with Congress to transform U.S. immigration law to reach true justice.
In its first 100 Days, the Biden administration has taken major steps forward–such as rescinding the Muslim ban–but also made promises it failed to keep. The debacle over increasing refugee resettlement numbers in FY 2021 is a painful example. And the ongoing reliance on Title 42 to reject asylum-seekers and return them to the harm they fled–a signature policy of the Stephen Miller/Trump era–is both immoral and devastating.
In the Jesuit journal America Magazine, contributing editor Bill McCormick also urged President Biden to act boldly: on refugee resettlement, asylum, and other humanitarian needs. “Embracing the boldness called for by Pope Francis will make President Biden a better leader, Christian and human being,” he said.
Ann Scholz, SSND Associate Director for Social Mission, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, concurred: “Our faith demands that we tear down walls and build communities; forswear our colonial legacy and accompany the people of Central America in their struggle for justice; and pass bold, humane, compassionate immigration laws that protect families and children. We stand ready to partner with the Biden administration whenever possible and we promise to challenge this administration whenever necessary.”
Said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah: A Rabbinic Call for Human Rights: “Judaism calls on us to make the moral choice: Reopen all the doors our society has slammed shut in recent years and welcome those the previous administration demonized as outsiders. This means rebuilding an immigration system that provides refugees and asylum seekers the safe haven our laws and our history promise. It includes ending immigrant detention and deportation, focusing efforts on family reunification, and taking responsibility for the children left orphaned by those policies. These steps should include a path to citizenship for our country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants, creating a just, transparent, and timely system for potential immigrants to gain legal entry into the United States. Our shared traditions and conscience call us to fight for the dignity of all people.”
Speaking on behalf of Franciscan Action Network, Associate Director Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF said: “Our faith belief in the dignity and rights of all people compels us to advocate with and for immigrants, refugees, and people with TPS. We welcome the Biden administration’s forward movement on immigration, but urge them to be bolder. Adherence to Title 42, deportation of Haitians, and failing to fulfill the promise made to refugees puts human lives at risk.”
Added Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries Director: “As we seek to reconstruct our nation’s immigration policies to more humanely welcome, we are aware that white supremacy is ingrained in the structures of our immigration systems, and indeed in many aspects of our faith histories, as well. In this important moment of racial reckoning, we call for a new paradigm that removes the white supremacy embedded in U.S. immigration laws; welcomes people from all religions, races, and national origins; and chooses communion and love instead of coercion and control.”
“The Biden administration began its first 100 days in office with stirring promises,” said Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President and CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. “Yet in the months since, its actions have all too often failed to keep pace with its words. Despite pledging to restore asylum, the Biden administration has continued to block asylum-seekers at ports of entry. Despite promising a more robust refugee admissions ceiling, it has backtracked on that commitment. At a time when racial justice movements shine a light on the anti-Blackness entrenched in U.S. institutions and on the wave of anti-Asian violence, President Biden continues to expel Black asylum-seekers to danger and deport Vietnamese refugees. Our communities deserve better. The administration must honor the pledge to bring humanity and dignity to the U.S. immigration system.”
Speaking on behalf of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Scott Wright added: “We urge the Biden administration to be bold in their efforts to create a path to citizenship for DACA and TPS holders, to rebuild our asylum system, protect migrants and refugees, and address root causes. We must not militarize any borders and deny migrants and refugees their internationally recognized rights, nor support corrupt and authoritarian governments in the region. We urge you to repeal Title 42, which is being used punitively against asylum-seeking families, and to accelerate the asylum process on the U.S. side so that migrant families are not forced to remain in dangerous situations in Mexico or send their children alone across the border.”
Said Jean Stokan, Immigration Coordinator with Sisters of Mercy of the Americas: “While grateful that the Biden administration has named root causes of migration as a key area of focus, we urge a shift from thinking that financial assistance is the main response to addressing poverty. Instead, what is needed is a full review of how U.S. foreign policies toward the region have exacerbated inequality and violence, including support for regimes with horrifying human rights records. A posture of listening to civil society is critical, as well as ending support for extractive models of development that do not benefit the poorest sectors. Most immediately, we urge the Administration to suspend security assistance to Honduras, as called for in the Senate’s Honduras Human Rights Bill (S. 388).”
“In addition to welcoming people who seek a home in the United States, we need to do more as a country for those who don’t want to be forced to flee their own home countries. People should feel safe in their communities; they should be able to find ample work to care for their families. Until we address the root causes of failed and failing states, we will not stem the flight of refugees, asylum seekers and emigrants,” said Lawrence E. Couch, Director, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, FROM FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS
Ending all anti-asylum policies implemented by the Trump and Obama administration and providing safe paths to migration.
Providing humane legal, social service, and other support to all unaccompanied children arriving at U.S. borders.
Removing racism and anti-Blackness from every policy, process, immigration court, and law.
Restoring and extending Temporary Protected Status, Deferred Enforced Departure, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Fairly and promptly adjudicating applications for the Liberian Refugee Immigration Status and other programs.
Changing the culture within Customs and Border Protection, to replace hostility with accountability and respect for human dignity.
Demilitarizing the border by tearing down the wall, reversing environmental damage, and including border residents in decisions affecting their lives.
Truly protecting family unity, including return after deportation.
Decriminalizing enforcement of immigration laws by reducing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget, rewriting enforcement priorities to favor family unity and justice, recommitting to “sensitive location” policies, disrupting the police-ICE pipeline, ending the reliance on immigration jails, and investing in community-based alternatives.
Providing access to free or affordable lawyers and appropriate interpreters in court, at the border, in detention, and in offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Bringing people who were deported home to their families in the United States.
Rescinding all travel bans that keep out asylum-seekers, refugees, and other immigrants.
Granting stays of removal to all people living in sanctuary, so that they can return to their families.
Enforcing U.S. labor and employment laws to protect all workers, regardless of immigration status.
Including all immigrant workers and families in COVID-19 financial relief.
Remaking foreign policy to strengthen human rights and local self-determination, and reduce militarization.
Reforming trade agreements to build in respect for human and labor rights, as well as the environment.
Supporting poverty reduction and other programs that benefit indigenous populations, small farmers and businesses, and women-led organizations and address the root causes of displacement.
Addressing climate change and its effects, which negatively impact communities around the world and force people to flee their homes.
Finally, our current immigration laws are rooted in racism, and need systemic change. Congress and the new administration must pass legal changes that extend a path to citizenship for aspiring Americans; remove U.S. immigration courts from the political branch; undo anti-immigrant laws passed in 1996; reduce the size of the U.S. detention and deportation system; end the militarization of border communities and instead invest in building up communities; and expand access to family-based immigration, diversity visas, and the refugee program.
For more, read IIC members’ detailed policy platform here.