To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Halt Deportations of Refugee Children to Central America
Just Foreign Policy
President Obama should guarantee protection and due process for women and children fleeing violence in Central America.
Why is this important?
In November 2014, President Obama said about immigration enforcement: "We’ll keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. That means felons, not families. That means criminals, not children. It means gang members, not moms who are trying to put food on the table for their kids.” [1]
But now the Department of Homeland Security is raiding homes to find and deport hundreds of would-be refugees back to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, where they fled "shockingly high levels of gang and drug violence," as the New York Times put it. The Times has called on the Administration to ensure protection and due process for women and children from Central America who face a chaotic and confusing legal process without adequate legal representation. [2] A Guardian investigation found that some deported to Central America have been murdered within days of their return. [3]
Senator Bernie Sanders has written to President Obama and homeland security officials, urging a halt to the deportation raids targeting families that fled violence in Central America. [4] “Raids are not the answer,” Sanders said. “We cannot continue to employ inhumane tactics involving rounding up and deporting tens of thousands of immigrant families to address a crisis that requires compassion and humane solutions.” Sanders suggested extending temporary protected status to the refugees, which would protect them from deportation.
Urge President Obama to halt the deportations of women and children fleeing violence in Central America by signing our petition.
References:
1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/21/remarks-president-immigration
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/opinion/a-shameful-round-up-of-refugees.html
3. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/12/obama-immigration-deportations-central-america
4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/07/sanders-writes-obama-urges-end-to-recently-started-deportation-raids/
But now the Department of Homeland Security is raiding homes to find and deport hundreds of would-be refugees back to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, where they fled "shockingly high levels of gang and drug violence," as the New York Times put it. The Times has called on the Administration to ensure protection and due process for women and children from Central America who face a chaotic and confusing legal process without adequate legal representation. [2] A Guardian investigation found that some deported to Central America have been murdered within days of their return. [3]
Senator Bernie Sanders has written to President Obama and homeland security officials, urging a halt to the deportation raids targeting families that fled violence in Central America. [4] “Raids are not the answer,” Sanders said. “We cannot continue to employ inhumane tactics involving rounding up and deporting tens of thousands of immigrant families to address a crisis that requires compassion and humane solutions.” Sanders suggested extending temporary protected status to the refugees, which would protect them from deportation.
Urge President Obama to halt the deportations of women and children fleeing violence in Central America by signing our petition.
References:
1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/21/remarks-president-immigration
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/opinion/a-shameful-round-up-of-refugees.html
3. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/12/obama-immigration-deportations-central-america
4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/07/sanders-writes-obama-urges-end-to-recently-started-deportation-raids/