IRAP ON NEW PAROLE ATTACKS:
IRAP Issues New Explainer of Trump Policies Affecting Parole Programs:
(New York, NY) – Last night, reporting by the New York Times revealed new Trump administration actions seeking to terminate parole programs and people’s parole status and to subject parolees to a fast-track deportation process. This includes Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who arrived legally in the United States as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to expand legal pathways for family reunification and humanitarian reasons, as well as people who entered the country lawfully via appointments obtained through the CBP One app in order to seek humanitarian protection.
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is deeply concerned about the individual lives, families, and communities that will be torn apart if the government advances these measures. It is also concerned these measures could be applied broadly to other populations whom the United States authorized to come legally to the United States, including Afghans who escaped the Taliban, Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion, and children who joined their parents in the United States via the Central American Minors (CAM) parole program.
Read IRAP’s new explainer on the details and implications of the Trump administration’s attack on parole programs HERE.
The following is a statement from Hannah Flamm, IRAP’s Acting Director of Policy:
“The Trump administration’s actions on parole this week are an abject example of applying a thin veneer of legality to advance its deeply bigoted agenda to scapegoat and expel as many immigrant members of our society as it can. While the legal authorities invoked in these actions will inevitably be challenged, we must not lose sight of the bigger picture; these actions are part of a larger attempt to run roughshod over the law in order to remake the United States without immigrants.
If this latest enforcement memorandum is carried out, it will separate families in every state across the country with no regard for due process. Immigrants who may be targeted by this action are valued community members who waited months or years to be authorized to enter the country in recognition of their urgent humanitarian needs or significant public benefit to the United States, only to now have the rug pulled out from under them. The Trump administration’s agenda represents an egregious betrayal of communities who trusted the government to protect them and of the welcoming spirit America has long espoused.”
Email media@refugeerights.org to discuss the details, implications, and unanswered questions about the refugee executive order and other Trump executive orders and plans
Additional Resources
Read IRAP’s previous statement on Trump immigration executive orders: HERE
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global legal aid and advocacy organization working to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. Everyone should have a safe place to live and a safe way to get there.
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WHAT THE HECK?
TRUMP DID WHAT HE SAID HE WOULD DO: INSTEAD OF BACKING COMMON SENSE IMMIGRATION REFORM – focusing on family and wellbeing, he used the false notion that most immigrants are criminals, to justify his punitive approach, thereby ignoring the real problems that could be fixed with bipartisan immigration reform:
On January 20th, the TRUMP administration immediately began to implement sweeping changes to immigration policy which will have grave impacts for immigrant communities in the U.S., and for people seeking safety around the world. They include:
• Refugee Resettlement Suspended: The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) allows refugees to be vetted overseas and then be admitted to the United States. Each year, the USRAP provides thousands of refugees with the opportunity to seek safety, rebuild their lives, and contribute to their communities in the United States. On January 20th, President Trump signed an executive order suspending all refugee admissions. While the EO says that there will be case-by-case exceptions, the exceptions will be very hard to obtain, if at all. The suspension of the program will be re-evaluated every 90 days, raising concerns that it could be indefinite.
• Mass Deportation: Through an executive order, the Trump administration has laid the groundwork for mass deportation of undocumented individuals, including many who have established roots and raised families in the United States for decades. The threat of deportation has instilled a deep sense of fear and uncertainty among many of the 11 million undocumented individuals living in the United States, raising profound concerns about the possibility of family separation, over-policing of communities, and racial profiling. The executive order requires all undocumented non-citizens to register with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), directs DHS to build more detention centers and includes negative consequences for organizations and cities who support immigrant communities. Mass deportation will force individuals to stay home from work and school, harming our economy, and tear apart communities across the country.
• Border Closure: President Trump signed multiple executive orders to restrict access to asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border, including the reinitiation of the Migration Protection Protocols, also known as “Remain in Mexico” and the declaration of migration as an “invasion” that purports to threaten national security and public health. The Department of Homeland Security will have wide discretion to apprehend and expel immigrants back to Mexico or their country of origin. Asylum seekers will be put directly in harm’s way, with almost no ability to seek protection.
• CBP One App No Longer Operational: Individuals in Mexico are unable to schedule appointments to be processed at one of eight designated ports of entry on the U.S-Mexico border, and all existing appointments are canceled. CBP One was the only way an individual could schedule an appointment to lawfully enter the U.S. and seek asylum at the border. This forces asylum-seekers to wait for indefinite and extended periods of time in Mexico where they lack access to basic social services and face targeted violence.
• All Humanitarian Parole Programs Terminated: Individuals in need of humanitarian support will no longer have access to established and carefully monitored pathways into the U.S. This includes Afghans, Ukrainians, Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Venezuelans. Parole programs are an orderly and safe way for people with U.S.-based sponsors to come to the U.S. on a temporary basis and legally work. Without parole, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States are left without legal status and unable to work. Individuals abroad who are waiting to come to the U.S. through parole are no longer able to do so. • Birthright Citizenship Denied: Individuals born in the U.S. to parents without permanent U.S. citizenship or lawful resident status will no longer be recognized as U.S. citizens. The denial of birthright citizenship violates the U.S. Constitution and creates a generation of second-class citizens without the rights of full citizenship. Litigation to fight this has already been filed.
HIAS:
The Jewish Values Grounding Us For thousands of years Jews have been forced to wander – fleeing persecution, searching for safety. From the ancient Exodus to modern-day persecution, it’s a story every Jewish generation knows. This shared history is more than a memory. It’s a guide. It’s why HIAS was created: to serve those in danger because of their religion, identity, or beliefs. That’s why today, we not only support Jews, but any inhabitant of this world forced to flee. Because our tradition teaches, because our history reminds us, because our experience demands that the right to welcome, to security, to dignity – is one that we all share.
CGRS:
The new administration has already shut down access to asylum at the border, ended pathways to safety like the “CHNV” parole program and the CBP One appointment process, and halted refugee resettlement. Tens of thousands of families, children, and adults are now stranded in danger. These measures, along with a slew of other extreme executive actions backed by Congress, will devastate immigrant communities, separate families, and exacerbate the suffering of people seeking safety at the southern border.
Each policy announcement has been punctuated with white supremacist talking points and dangerous conspiracy theories used to justify the administration’s cruelty and stoke hatred against immigrants.
African Human Rights Coalition Notes:
“When one slams on the breaks while driving, we expect all vehicles behind to crash into the front vehicle and each other. This Executive Order represents a purposeful massive crash, leaving the most vulnerable, the refugees, laying injured on the side of the road, while he who caused the accident flees the scene”Our hearts are with all refugees and especially the most vulnerable and marginalized among refugees to include women, children and LGBTQI+ people who have spent so many years suffering in camps and dangerous protection environments. They have followed the rules, passed stringent vetting procedures and are now punished by America.
These executive orders betray who we are, our American values, where for centuries we have nurtured compassion and welcoming the stranger, and for many of us insults our religious values.
Please join in expressing solidarity with all forcibly displaced populations as we urge our national, state, and local leaders to sustain our nation’s capacity to welcome. Please invoke your moral duty and courage to insist our leaders reflect our values. Speak up against any and all orders, legislation and proposals that harm the lives of refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants, opposing that which offends all that we have stood for over these past centuries.”MELANIE NATHAN
COUNTRY CONDITIONS EXPERT
AFRICAN COUNTRIES
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