TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

TELL BIDEN: PROTECT ALL THOSE SEEKING SAFETY

The President’s announcement to welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and send $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to aid civilians is a major victory. While we welcome this news, we must also hold Biden accountable to showing the same level of care to refugees and asylum-seekers who are not white.

Time and time again, this administration has failed to act to protect people from majority Black and Brown countries — including Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Haiti. The U.S. revised its border policies to allow Ukrainians to seek safety but continues to deny others: just last month, over 165,000 people seeking safety were denied protection at the border, the majority of whom are Black and Brown. This sharp difference in treatment lays bare the discrimination and double standards of U.S. leadership.

All people fleeing conflict should be treated with aid and compassion, no matter who they are or where they come from.

Tell President Biden: Everyone fleeing conflict and violence should be afforded the same opportunity for refuge in the U.S.

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Alejandro

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Antony

Blinken

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Dear President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, and Secretary Blinken,

I’m writing with Amnesty International and as a supporter of human rights to first thank you for your recent decision to provide $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine – and for your commitment to welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. As the Russian government’s brutal onslaught enters its second month, these measures will save lives.

As you design specific plans to ensure the maximum number of refugees are afforded safety and provided permanent legal status, I implore you not to ignore the discrimination and violence suffered by Black and Brown refugees fleeing Ukraine who have faced ill-treatment and are being blocked from accessing safety. I encourage your response to explicitly include third country nationals in Ukraine – including people from Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and beyond.

While I applaud your swift action to protect Ukrainians, your announcement stands in stark contrast to how you’ve responded to refugees and asylum-seekers from majority Black and Brown countries.

Time and time again, you have failed to act as quickly to protect those at-risk from countries including Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Haiti. Refugees from these countries are still stuck in limbo, waiting in camps for years despite some already being approved for resettlement in the U.S.; over one million people seeking protection have been expelled at the Southern border; and tens of thousands more remain unjustly locked up in U.S. immigration detention or live in constant fear of deportation without any safety net.

This sharp difference in treatment lays bare the racism and double standards of U.S. leadership. All people fleeing conflict should be treated with the same aid and compassion, no matter what country they’re from, or what demographic they are.

As your administration designs pathways to safety to the US for Ukrainian refugees, I urge you to provide equal access to protection for all people seeking safety:

1. Ensure that third-country nationals in Ukraine are given the same pathways to protection as other refugees from Ukraine.

2. Designate Cameroon, Ethiopia, and other countries with ongoing armed conflicts with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), so that asylum-seekers and refugees cannot be sent back to a dangerous situation.

3. Immediately halt all deportations to Haiti, a country that your administration has said is experiencing serious security concerns, social unrest, an increase in human rights abuses, crippling poverty, and lack of basic resources.

4. Restore access to asylum: Ensure an end to all expulsions under Title 42 and the ill-named Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or “Remain in Mexico” policy at the U.S. southern border.

5. End the use of arbitrary, mass immigration detention: Phase out Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracts with private prison companies and county jails, and incorporate a presumption of liberty in all custody decisions, so that people can navigate the immigration process with the support of sponsors and community-based nonprofit programs.

It’s clear that when it wants to, your administration is capable of protecting those in need.

Please, as you continue to take steps to protect Ukrainians – you must ensure protections for all others fleeing conflict and violence. All people should be afforded the same opportunity for refuge in the U.S.

Thank you,

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TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

TELL BIDEN: PROTECT *ALL* THOSE SEEKING SAFETY

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TELL BIDEN: PROTECT ALL THOSE SEEKING SAFETY