Time is running out to protect immigrants. On Monday, Congress ended a three-day government shutdown due to Senate Democrats caving under pressure to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government operating.1 But the short-term bill passed without including any clear protections for nearly 800,000 young undocumented youth who are recipients of the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and over 300,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients. Now Congress must work quickly to approve funding legislation by February 8th. This time it must include a passage of a clean Dream Act and save TPS.
Trump drove the government to shut down in the first place. Because of Trump’s clear racist agenda to push out Black and Brown immigrants, annihilate these programs, increase raids and deportations, and refer to Black immigrants as being from “sh*thole” countries, we are now at the brink of many more immigrants losing more protections and rights. Right this moment hundreds of thousands of families and loved ones are anxiously waiting and living in fear. Already over 54,000 Color of Change members have signed the petition calling on Congress to protect Black immigrants.
We cannot let Trump keep shutting down the government because his administration rather attack and criminalize Black and Brown immigrants than ensure our entire country has access to healthcare, the ability to work and protect immigrants from detention and deportation. Congress must oppose Trump and be on the right side of history.
Until justice is real,
Clarise, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
1. “Government Shutdown Ends After 3 Days of Recriminations,” New York Times, Jan 22, 2018
P.S. Below is the original email from Scott on why we need to protect all immigrants:
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Yesterday, Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration will end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA.1 Today, more than ever our communities must continue to fight back against the Trump regime. DACA currently protects over 800,000 young immigrants from being deported. It allows immigrants to stay in the U.S., live with their families, work, go to school, and thrive in their communities. Without such a program, millions of families will be torn apart.
But there’s more: Trump is refusing to extend the Temporary Protected Status program for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have sought safety here in the U.S. from harm, climate disaster, violence in their home country. Many Haitian immigrants and other Black immigrants benefit from this program. It is expected to expire in January. When it expires, many of these immigrants will be immediately deported — forcing many to live in fear. There is already bipartisan support for the extension of TPS. But not for Haitian immigrants.The Trump administration has even said, “Haitians should be prepared to go home.”2 No one should have to live in that kind of fear. There is no time to waste — Congress must act quickly to protect all immigrants.
Since the start of Trump’s occupation in the White House, he has laid out an agenda that harms immigrants. It began with the executive orders to strip funds from Sanctuary Cities and issuing travel bans that target Muslim immigrants. We cannot forget the Trump administration is determined to build a border wall. One of the country’s largest private prison companies GEO Group received one of the first contracts from the Trump administration that resulted in the opening of a large Texas detention center for children and families. All of this is happening right on the heels of Trump abusing his power and pardoning former Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio who was just convicted weeks ago for human rights abuses. He is a known racist who spent his entire tenure as sheriff racially profiling Latinx communities. But at every turn, people have fought back: blocking the travel ban, stalling the funding of the border wall, and cities filing lawsuits to protect Sanctuary Cities. So we know together we will continue to win each and every battle.
Trump’s agenda is all part of a larger racist, white supremacist agenda to get rid of communities of color, and Black and Brown immigrants. Congress must stop Trump now. Congress must put forth the effort to not allow Trump use immigrants as pawns for his agenda to build a wall and must stop the increased policing. Their silence must end today.
Sign the petition to demand Congress pass the DREAM Act and extend TPS.
Trump does not care about any immigrant. He wants to get rid of every immigrant and their families. This is a clear attack on all Black and Brown immigrants regardless of their status. Congress can no longer stay on the sidelines and let Trump continue his vicious attack on immigrants. For years, people have been on the frontlines pushing for change that will end the discrimination and violence against immigrants. The reality is, more needs to be done to ensure all immigrants are protected. Congress must not exploit immigrants to promote Trump’s agenda for building a wall or increasing funding for harsher policing and law enforcement. Instead, the legislation must reflect the justice our communities. We must end all criminalization of Black and Brown people. Every single person deserves the right to freely live their lives with dignity and without shame. This means, no ban, no wall, no deportations, no detention centers, #DefendDACA #SaveTPS, pass the DREAM Act, and protect our communities.
Until justice is real,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Anay, Clarise, Enchanta, Malaya, Katrese, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References
1. “Watch: Attorney General Jeff Sessions expected to announce end of DACA immigration program,” CNBC, 09-05-2017
https://act.colorofchange.org/go/8754?t=12&akid=8982%2E1174326%2EfVR7BM
2. “‘Temporary’ Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means” National Review, 05-22-2017
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/8730?t=14&akid=8982%2E1174326%2EfVR7BM
Be a Seed for Change 