This week, President Joe Biden imposed sweeping restrictions on the rights of vulnerable people to seek asylum in the United States. This unjust executive order runs counter to our core Quaker values, our values as a nation, and both U.S. and international law.
While much of the media conversation has focused on politics, we must remember the human consequences. As Rep. Ayanna Presley (MA-7) explained, this order will “gut the asylum process, deny immigrants their rights to due process, and put vulnerable families back in harm’s way.”
More broadly, anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric being pushed in Washington are serving to dangerously villainize and dehumanize migrants. This carries real consequences. As immigrant communities face fear and intimidation, faith-based charity groups that support migrants in need are facing threats and harassment, both by state officials and far-right extremists.
We must use our voices to raise up a better narrative – one that honors immigrants and our core values.
As the Quaker Statement on Migration states, migration justice means ensuring “welcome, inclusion, dignity, shared security, sanctuary, love, and compassion, as needed, because we are all part of the same human family whether we migrate or not.”
Rather than caving to voices of division, our leaders must advance real immigration solutions that center compassion over cruelty.
We must never forget that behind each asylum case, each migration story, is a person – a child, a mother, a brother. Our neighbor. Someone who, at great personal risk, made a long perilous journey in hopes of finding safety and a better life. How we treat them when they arrive is a defining test of our national character.
We can and must do better.
Elsewhere
RECA Expires
Congress shamefully allowed RECA to expire today, leaving victims of radiation from the nuclear weapon industry uncertain if they can still get the treatment they need.
We never should have reached this day. Speaker Mike Johnson needs to act and bring bipartisan legislation to the House floor. We are hopeful that the program will be extended and expanded swiftly before downwinders lose critical health benefits and compensation.
Developments in Gaza
President Biden gave a speech last Friday touting an “Israeli ceasefire proposal.” Since then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others have cast doubt on whether the proposal really has Israeli support. Still, negotiations are ongoing, and we hope this positive development will lead to a permanent end to this horrific violence.
In the meantime, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues. This week, Israel bombed a U.N. school where children and families were sheltering, killing dozens with U.S. made bombs.
Some U.S. lawmakers don’t want anyone to be held accountable. The House just passed legislation, opposed by FCNL and others, that would sanction International Criminal Court officials for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas officials.
The U.S. must end our complicity in this war by ending military aid to Israel, demanding a permanent ceasefire, and rushing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Violence in Sudan
The New York Times published a devastating look at the violence in Sudan and the civilians who are suffering. As one wounded veteran they interviewed said, “Guns can’t solve this problem. We need to talk peace.”
FCNL is calling for accountability, an end to arms flowing into Sudan, increased humanitarian aid and peace talks that include the people, not just the generals.
FCNL on the Environment
- Bridget Moix wrote in RNS on why investing in international climate assistance is fundamentally about justice.
-
FCNL’s Sofia Guerra and Carla Montilla wrote in Inkstick on how cooperation between the U.S. and China is necessary to avoid nuclear and climate disaster.
Upcoming Events
- FCNL is hosting a Zoom call June 11 at 7 p.m. ET on how you can make a positive impact in the 2024 elections.
- Join a panel conversation at Friends Place on Capitol Hill and virtually on Community Violence Interrupters, June 20, 6 p.m. ET.
