WASHINGTON, D.C.–People’s Action released the following statement from Executive Director Sulma Arias in response to the release of legislative text of a bipartisan deal in the Senate that sacrificed asylum and refugee legal protections to obtain Republican votes for foreign military aid.
“People seeking safety from violence and persecution deserve compassion and protection when they arrive in our country. The overwhelming majority of working people in the U.S. believe this. Trump’s attacks on migrants shocked our conscience and drove people into action–from the fences of Tornillo to the ballot boxes of the 2020 elections. We made calls, knocked on doors and voted for Democrats because they promised to roll back Trump’s racist immigration policies ‘on day one.’ This deal is a betrayal of that commitment.
“Extreme MAGA Republicans will never stop demanding worse attacks on migrants and asylum seekers. They have already said this legislation does not go far enough. Voting for this toxic piece of legislation serves only to put senators on the record on ill-conceived and inhumane policy and further demoralize Biden’s base. Senators should reject this ‘deal’ and vote no.”
People’s Action builds the power of poor and working people in urban, rural, and suburban areas to win change through issue fights and elections. We are a national network of 44 state and local grassroots power-building organizations in 30 states–united in the work of building a bigger “we.”
Contact: Derrick Crowe, press@peoplesaction.org.