Newsroom

Update

March 25, 2019 The Honorable Eliot Engel Chairman Foreign Affairs Committee U.S. House of Representatives 2170 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Michael McCaul Ranking Member Foreign Affairs Committee U.S. House of Representatives 2170 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 RE: Amnesty International USA Statement on State Department’s Foreign Policy Strategy and FY20 Budget Request Dear Chairman Engel, Ranking Member McCaul, and members of the Committee: On behalf of Amnesty International and our more than seven million members and supporters worldwide, we hereby submit this statement for the record. Amnesty International is an international human rights…

March 25, 2019

Press Release

European leaders were sent a clear message last night when a huge “Refugees Welcome” sign was projected on to the side of the Acropolis.

March 18, 2019

Press Release

Responding to news that the government of Nauru has passed a law severely restricting medical transfers to Australia for refugees and asylum seekers, Meghna Abraham, Director of Global Thematic Issues at Amnesty International, said: “This move by the Nauru government is a dangerous and callous act that could have deadly consequences for the women, men and children whom Australia has exiled there. “Nauru has failed to provide refugees with the health care they desperately need. Denying them medical transfers is yet another blow and demonstrates just how far the human rights of refugees have slipped down Nauru and Australia’s agendas.…

February 20, 2019

Press Release

The president’s proposal fails to provide adequate protection for Dreamers and TPS recipients. A temporary three-year extension of status is not a permanent legislative solution.

January 19, 2019

Press Release

The following can be attributed to Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA: “Warehousing thousands of children in tents for weeks and months on end has been one of the most disastrous policies of the Trump administration responding to children and families seeking safety at the border. We welcome the closure of the children’s detention camp in Tornillo and will hold the government to account in its assurance that the majority of the children will be moved to loving homes. Any children relocated to government shelters must be placed with waiting families and sponsors as soon as possible. “But…

January 11, 2019

Press Release

Following news of the disembarkation of 49 men, women and children stranded at sea for 19 days while their requests for safe harbor were refused, Elisa De Pieri, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Southern Europe, said: “After nearly three weeks of being tossed around in stormy seas these women, men and children are now safely on dry land, but the fact that it took so long is shameful. “The dangerous, unseemly spectacle of politicians bickering whilst women, men and children are stranded in a sea of cruel indifference, must not be repeated. “The Italian and Maltese authorities have brazenly undermined the search and rescue system and…

January 9, 2019

Press Release

In anticipation of President Trump’s address tonight on his administration’s policies toward asylum-seekers and migrants at the border, Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International, issued the following statement: “The president’s persistent efforts to dehumanize asylum seekers at the border must no longer be enabled by any kind of federal support – period. His proposed wall is nothing more than a divisive symbol of fear and it should not be funded at all. “The Trump Administration has done everything in its power to make the situation at the border as unbearable as possible. From forcing people to remain in an…

January 8, 2019

Press Release

In response to a negotiated deal between the United States and Mexico that would require people to remain in Mexico while their claims to seek protection are processed in the United States, Amnesty International executive director Margaret Huang issued this statement: “This deal is a stark violation of international law, flies in the face of US laws passed by Congress, and is a callous response to the families and individuals running for their lives. While mothers, fathers, and children leave everything behind in search of protection, the US and Mexican governments are collaborating to shut down their access to safety.…

December 20, 2018

Update

12/20/2018 In advance of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee conducting a hearing, "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security", Amnesty International USA submitted the below statement for the record. AIUSA urged the Committee to forcefully question DHS on the policies and practices that are keeping asylum-seekers from accessing protection at U.S. borders, and further demand that DHS issue clear policy guidance halting illegal push-backs of asylum-seekers, both at and between POE. AIUSA submitted the following recommendations to the Committee to demand of DHS: Immediately stop turning away asylum-seekers at the US–Mexico border, both at and between official POE. Publicly affirm, including…

December 20, 2018

Press Release

Judge Emmet Sullivan, on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, today struck down a decision instituted by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions that made it almost impossible for victims of domestic and gang violence to seek asylum in the United States. Reacting to the order, Amnesty International USA Director of the Gender, Sexuality and Identity Program, Tarah Demant stated: “Survivors of domestic violence and gang violence have already been terrorized at home and have made the dangerous journey to the U.S. to seek protection. They have the right to seek protection in the United States as they…

December 19, 2018

Update

12/10/2018 In advance of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee conducting a hearing, "Oversight of U.S. Customs and Border Protection", Amnesty International USA submitted the below statement for the record. Background: In October and November of this year, Amnesty International sent a team of researchers to Tijuana, Mexico and the San Ysidro port of entry, where they interviewed asylum-seekers who have been illegally turned away by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection officials and are consequently being forced to wait for over a month in dangerous conditions in northern Mexico. By turning away asylum-seekers at the border without registering and processing their…

December 10, 2018

Press Release

Responding to news from MSF and SOS Mediterranée that the Aquarius search and rescue vessel has been forced to end operations, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said: “Today, we received some very sad news. Médecins Sans Frontières and its partner SOS Méditerranée have been forced to terminate operations by the search and rescue ship, Aquarius. “Over the last two years the Aquarius and her crew have rescued nearly 30,000 people in the Mediterranean. Yet, more than 2,100 people have drowned this year. The vast majority were fleeing violence, torture and arbitrary detention in Libya. “During this time, not only have European governments failed to…

December 7, 2018