WASHINGTON, DC — FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement today calling for ICE to halt deportation flights containing Black people seeking asylum, despite a moratorium on deportations issued by the Biden Administration:

“It is important to be clear: the decision by a Federal Judge to place a temporary restraining order on the Biden administration’s 100 day pause on certain deportations absolutely in no way means that the Biden admin must—or should—be deporting Black asylum seekers to Haiti and elsewhere. As there appears to be some confusion around this, we want to be very clear: the flights can and must end immediately.

“The Trump administration did all it could to aim to wreck the ability of people surviving terrible conditions to apply for asylum at the US border. These efforts—like the Remain in Mexico policy, Title 42 expulsions and other efforts to eliminate the asylum system—are a stain on our country. The new administration must work tirelessly to repair these harms and stop future harm such as these deportation flights, as they work to build a humane and working asylum, migration and refugee system.”