Report shines a light on lesser-known but still brutal assaults on immigrant, refugee, and asylee communities
Boston (May 30, 2019) – Since taking office, the Trump administration has enacted a series of high-profile policy changes that target immigrants and the communities in which they reside. But some of the most alarming and far-reaching actions to date have been made without public awareness. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) is today releasing a comprehensive new report, “Under the Radar: The Trump’s Administration’s Stealth Attack on the U.S. Immigration System”, that outlines the multiple executive orders, memoranda, guidance, rulemaking, and informal directives during the first two years of his administration that President Donald Trump has used to surreptitiously remake our immigration system.
“Donald Trump’s changes to the U.S. immigration policy expose a systematic effort to erase the existence of immigrants in the United States,” said Senator Markey. “Taken together, this report makes clear that the Trump administration is the most anti-immigrant administration in America’s history. We need to pull back the curtain and shed light on the changes that have been occurring without fanfare, but with terribly destructive consequences. We must stand together to demand accountability of the administration for these inhumane and sweeping policy changes.”
A copy of the report, “Under the Radar: The Trump’s Administration’s Stealth Attack on the U.S. Immigration System” can be found HERE.
Senator Markey’s report is organized into three sections: “Corrupting the Current System”, “Ramping Up Enforcement”, and “Reshaping Immigration Courts”. In section two, for example, the report explains that over the past two years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has targeted sponsors of unaccompanied children. These are children under age 18 who have no lawful immigration status and who have no parent or legal guardian in the United States. In these cases, the Office of Refugee Resettlement must try to identify a sponsor to whom it can release the child. But from late July to late November 2018, ICE arrested 170 potential sponsors of unaccompanied children, 64 percent of whom had no criminal record. Not only did these practices subject countless law-abiding immigrants to enforcement actions, they also deterred potential sponsors of these children from coming forward and providing much needed care for these vulnerable kids.
Other topics covered in the report include:
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