What’s Happening?
In November 2023, LAWG joined over 200 immigration and human rights organizations in a letter to President Biden urging him to drop the negotiations that would exchange draconian immigration restrictions for humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine and Israel.
In December, LAWG sent out an action alert asking you to tell your senators to NOT trade away the right to asylum. On Sunday, the Senate finally reached a horrendous deal – and it will destroy current asylum laws and endanger the lives of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers.
Today, we need your help again. The bill, Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, has provisions that are extremely harmful to our already broken asylum system such as:
- A trigger that would allow DHS (or CBP) close the border to unauthorized migrants if numbers exceed over 5,000 over the course of a week or 8,500 in a day, and executive authority to close the border if migrant encounters reach an average of 4,000 per day over a week.
- It would raise the already subjective and biased “credible fear standard” for asylum seekers who are fleeing from persecution and violence.
- The bill would place asylum seekers in a rapid screening process with limited access to counsel.
- Record-breaking funding to migrant detention, surveillance and deportation to historic levels.
This bill trades refugee and migrant rights for military aid. It is cruel. And it punishes people for seeking safety and violates the Refugee Convention to which the US is a signatory.
What Can You Do?
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has scheduled a vote for February 7th, 2024 to “test” whether the bill has the 60 out of 100 votes necessary to end the debate and vote on it.
You can take a stand NOW by calling your senators and urge them NOT to trade away the right to seek asylum. These are the steps to take:
- Call the Congressional Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
- Ask to be transferred to your senator’s office and use the following script:
“My name is [NAME], from [CITY, TOWN, STATE, ZIP CODE], I am urging Senator [YOUR SENATOR] to oppose any concessions that trade away long-standing commitments to the right to asylum.. This weakening of asylum rights will be extremely dangerous for migrants seeking refuge and for immigrant communities across the U.S., and is against international law. The lives of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers should never be used as a bargaining chip. Senator [YOUR SENATOR], vote NO on the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. Thank you.”