Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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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
Update
Amnesty International USA calls for co-sponsors of the Break the Cycle of Violence Act
On June 30, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to members of Congress to urge them to co-sponsor the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (S. 2275, H.R. 4118). Introduced on June 24 by Sen. Booker and Rep. Horsford, Break the Cycle of Violence Act would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to build safer thriving communities by investing in community-based violence reduction initiatives. Importantly the bill would include $5 billion funding (over eight years) to support community gun violence intervention programs, as requested by the President in the American Jobs Plan. Click here to read the letter ©…
June 30, 2021
Press Release
110+ Orgs to Biden: End U.S. Program of Lethal Strikes Abroad
Today, 113 organizations from the United States and around the world sent a letter to President Biden calling for an end to the U.S. program of lethal strikes outside recognized battlefields, including through the use of drones. The groups’ focus varies from: human rights; civil rights and civil liberties; racial, social, and environmental justice; humanitarian approaches to foreign policy; faith-based initiatives; peacebuilding; government accountability; veterans’ issues; and the protection of civilians. “Successive presidents have now claimed the unilateral power to authorize secretive extrajudicial killing outside any recognized battlefield, with no meaningful accountability for wrongful deaths and civilians lives lost and…
June 30, 2021
Press Release
National Security Law has created a human rights emergency in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL) has decimated the city’s freedoms and created a landscape increasingly devoid of human rights protections, Amnesty International said in a new research briefing released today, exactly one year after the Beijing-imposed legislation took effect. ‘In the Name of National Security’ details how the law enacted on June 30, 2020 has given the authorities free rein to illegitimately criminalize dissent while stripping away the rights of those it targets. “In one year, the National Security Law has put Hong Kong on a rapid path to becoming a police state and created a human rights emergency…
June 29, 2021