Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Guantánamo Bay Has Been Allowed to Remain Open Too Long
Responding to the Biden administration transferring its first detainee out of Guantánamo Bay, Daphne Eviatar, the director of the Security With Human Rights program said: “The Biden administration’s first transfer out of Guantánamo is a welcome step. Now we need to see the remaining ten detainees already cleared for release transferred quickly. And we need to see clear plans for shuttering this unlawful facility once and for all. “The detention facility has been allowed to stay open for far too long, now holding thirty-nine people for almost two decades, most without charge or trial.” Amnesty International USA continues to campaign…
July 19, 2021
Press Release
The Pegasus Project: Massive data leak reveals Israeli NSO Group’s spyware used to target activists, journalists, and political leaders globally
NSO Group’s spyware has been used to facilitate human rights violations around the world on a massive scale, according to a major investigation into the leak of 50,000 phone numbers of potential surveillance targets. These include heads of state, activists and journalists, including Jamal Khashoggi’s family. The Pegasus Project is a ground-breaking collaboration by more than 80 journalists from 17 media organizations in 10 countries coordinated by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based media non-profit, with the technical support of Amnesty International, who conducted cutting- edge forensic tests on mobile phones to identify traces of the spyware. “The Pegasus Project lays bare…
July 18, 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
Press Release
After Two Years of ICE Detention, Maura, a Transgender Woman from Nicaragua Regains Her Freedom
After a campaign to free Maura, a 41-year-old transgender woman from Nicaragua, generated over 14,000 emails to the ICE San Diego Field Office, the Department of Homeland Security agency has finally released Maura to freedom after detaining her for over 800 days in a facility accused of medical neglect and failing to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. Following her release, Maura said: “I am so, so happy. I still can't believe it. I thought I wasn't going to get out of that place, I thought I wasn't going to get out of that hell. It was very difficult, very traumatic, very horrible.…
July 13, 2021
Press Release
Over a Hundred National and International Groups Call on the Biden Administration to Welcome Haitians Seeking Safety in the U.S.
Over 130 human rights, humanitarian, immigration and women’s rights organizations called on President Biden, the Department of Homeland Security, the Domestic Policy Council, the National Security Agency, and the Department of State to welcome Haitians following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. “At this time of great political and social uncertainty, it would be unconscionable and unlawful for the United States to refuse the entry of Haitians seeking protection at the U.S. border or to pursue removal proceedings, detention, deportation or expulsion of any Haitian nationals to conditions that can only be described as dangerous,” the groups stated in a…
July 13, 2021
Update
Human Rights on Capitol Hill – July 2021 Newsletter
July 13, 2021
Press Release
‘Our government should not be in the business of detaining pregnant or nursing individuals’
Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign responded to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s new memo pertaining to pregnant, postpartum, or nursing individuals. The memo limits the detention of nursing, postpartum, or pregnant people, but still allows ICE officials to detain them in exceptional circumstances. #WelcomeWithDignity campaign members--many of whom have previously spoken out against conditions pregnant people face in ICE custody--responded.
July 9, 2021
Press Release
UN Security Council’s compromise resolution on Syria falls short of humanitarian needs
Responding to the UN Security Council vote passing a resolution renewing authorization of the Bab al-Hawa crossing point for the delivery of UN cross-border humanitarian aid from Turkey to north-west Syria for a six-month period, with a six-month renewal subject to certain conditions, the Head of Amnesty International’s UN office Sherine Tadros said: “This compromise resolution is once again an example of Russia ignoring the humanitarian needs of Syrians, and instead playing political games with the lives and welfare of millions of people. “The cross-border aid mechanism through Bab al-Hawa provides a crucial lifeline for people in north-west Syria, providing food,…
July 9, 2021
Press Release
Biden Must Step Up Support for Critical Humanitarian Aid into Syria as Russia Threatens Crossing Closure
The Biden Administration must use every tool at its disposal to prevent this blocking of lifesaving aid - and COVID-19 vaccines - to millions of Syrians, Amnesty International USA said today in a letter addressed to U.S. President Joe Biden. Geoffrey Mock, the Middle East country specialist at Amnesty International USA said: “The Biden administration must show its leadership in supporting continued humanitarian access through Bab al-Hawa, and the reopening of two other currently closed crossing points - Bab al-Salam in the north-west and al-Yarubiyah in north-east. The shameful threat by the governments of Russia and China to close Bab…
July 9, 2021
Press Release
Abuses at Fort Bliss Confirm Children Seeking Asylum Don’t Belong in Detention
Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity responded to the Government Accountability Project’s press release on whistleblower allegations of abuse at Fort Bliss. Eyewitnesses described a fire and water damage repair company with no experience of youth care being charged with the direct supervision of children, failures in case management and oversight, and thousands of children housed in dormitory tents. #WelcomeWithDignity campaign members--many of whom visited the center in question--responded:
July 8, 2021
Press Release
Investigation urged into killing of Haitian President and grave human rights violations under his watch
Last night’s armed assault that reportedly killed Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and injured his wife is a shocking indicator of the serious human rights and political crisis that Haiti has been facing for years, and must be promptly and impartially investigated alongside the grave and ongoing human rights violations in the country, Amnesty International said today. “The killing of President Jovenel Moïse must be immediately and impartially investigated alongside the grave human rights violations and chronic impunity that ordinary people have suffered under his watch,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International. “This is a wake-up call for the…
July 7, 2021
Press Release
The Moratorium on Federal Executions Highlights Need to Abolish the Death Penalty, Once and For All
Responding to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland imposing a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department reviews its policies and procedures on capital punishment, Kristina Roth, the Senior Advocate for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA, said:
July 2, 2021