Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
President Biden Fails to Give Reassurance to Afghans At Risk
Following President Biden's speech on the situation in Afghanistan, Paul O'Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), issued the following statement:
August 20, 2021
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Condemns Any Resurgence of the Remain in Mexico Policy
On Friday, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Department of Homeland Security to “enforce and implement MPP in good faith." Under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or the Remain in Mexico program, the U.S. government forcibly returned people to Mexico while they ask for asylum in the U.S.
August 19, 2021
Press Release
Every Moment the Biden Administration Does Not Course Correct in Afghanistan Could Have Horrific Consequences
Responding to the Taliban’s push into Kabul over the weekend, Amnesty International joined Freedom House in calling on President Biden to ensure the safe evacuation of human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, media workers, and individuals who have provided assistance to foreign governments and for the White House to provide a lifeline to millions of internally displaced Afghans and Afghan refugees. The human rights organizations called on the Biden Administration to work with the United Nations to develop a functioning humanitarian infrastructure to assist the people of Afghanistan and to provide justice for victims of human rights abuses. Paul O’Brien,…
August 16, 2021
Press Release
International community must act decisively in Afghanistan to avert further tragedy
Responding to the collapse of the Afghan government following the seizure of power by the Taliban and the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as thousands of people attempt to leave the country, Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “What we are witnessing in Afghanistan is a tragedy that should have been foreseen and averted. It will only be compounded further without swift and decisive action from the international community. Thousands of Afghans at serious risk of Taliban reprisals - from academics and journalists to civil society activists and women human rights defenders - are in danger of being abandoned…
August 16, 2021
Update
Amnesty International USA and 84 Civil Society Organizations call on Biden Administration to Designate New 18-month TPS For Ethiopia
Amnesty International USA joined over 80 organizations calling on Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas and Secretary of State Blinken to designate a new 18 month TPS for Ethiopia. - A woman carrying crops walks next to an abandoned tank belonging to Tigrayan forces south of the town of Mehoni, Ethiopia, on December 11, 2020. The town of Mehoni, located in Southern Tigray, experienced shelling resulting in civilian deaths and injured people. (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP) (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images) August 4, 2021 The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security Nebraska…
August 4, 2021
Press Release
Extending Title 42 Will Endanger Refugees, Not Stop COVID-19
Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign responded with deep disappointment to the extension of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order blocking the entry of people seeking asylum at our borders. Public health experts and asylum advocates from the campaign have made the case that the United States can safely welcome people seeking asylum.
August 3, 2021
Press Release
New IRAP Report Recommends Actions to Tackle Climate Displacement
Today, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) released a new report, “Opportunities to Address Climate Displacement in the U.S.,” which outlines the legal protection gaps that prevent people displaced by climate change from finding safety and what the United States can do to address them. The report’s publication coincides with the report prepared by the President’s National Security Advisor on the impact of climate change on migration, which the White House is expected to receive by August 4.
August 2, 2021
Press Release
Abbott’s Executive Order GA-37 is an Unconstitutional Attack on Humanitarian Organizations
The #WelcomeWithDignity campaign condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order GA-37 directing Department of Public Safety officials to stop any vehicle suspected of transporting migrants and return it to a port of entry. Governor Abbott’s executive order is based on shoddy science and racism. Leading public health officials have said time and time again that the United States can welcome people seeking asylum with science-based measures that will mitigate the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
July 29, 2021
Press Release
#WelcomeWithDignity: Expedited Removal is a Fast Track to Danger
Last evening, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would begin using a process of rapid deportations known as “expedited removal” for certain families arriving at the border. Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign responded with deep concern about the administration’s decision to embrace a deterrence-based policy that frequently leads to the unlawful deportation of people seeking asylum, who are often denied the chance to request protection by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
July 28, 2021
Update
Amnesty International Calls on President Biden to Address Repression, Human Rights Abuses in Iraq in Meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi
On July 23, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to raise unlawful repression and worrying human rights abuses in Iraq towards peaceful protesters, press, religious minorities, and internally displaced persons on Monday, July 26th's during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's scheduled White House visit. Click here to download a copy of the letter, or read below. July 23, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 RE: Amnesty International urges President Biden to raise rights abuses against press, protesters, religious minorities, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in visit by Iraqi Prime Minister…
July 23, 2021
Press Release
Telling People Seeking Asylum ‘Do Not Come’ is Heartless and it Doesn’t Work
Yesterday, in a CNN town hall President Biden was asked about his administration’s immigration policy with regards to refugees and people seeking asylum and said: “they should not come.” The President of the United States knows seeking asylum is a legal right under U.S. law, and a fundamental human right enshrined in international treaties and conventions--telling people seeking protection otherwise is inexcusable. Members of the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign responded: “I was in Nogales, Sonora yesterday and met a 24-year-old single mother with her two young children,” shared Laurie Benson, Founder of Madres e Hijos. “This mother fled Guerrero when her brother was…
July 22, 2021
Press Release
Experts Remind DHS Secretary Seeking Asylum is a Human Right — Regardless of How You Arrive
Today, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Cubans and Haitians will not be allowed to reach the United States to seek asylum if traveling by boat. Secretary Mayorkas’s remarks come despite both Cubans and Haitians facing acute economic, political, and public health crises in their countries. Administrations in the United States have tried to use cruel deterrence-based policies since President Regan, and not only have they never worked, they often result in family separations. Experts also noted that the United States has a troubling history of interdicting people seeking protection at sea and of sending Haitians to Guantanamo…
July 14, 2021