WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us Vice President of Advocacy Alida Garcia issued the following statement on President Trump’s upcoming border visit:
“Trump’s visit to the southern border today is a dark bookend for a desperate demagogue whose campaign began with vile attacks on Mexican and immigrant families just minutes into his campaign launch 5 years ago. His presidency started with dangerous white supremacist rhetoric and quickly pivoted to policies in the first week that destroyed the lives of countless families with the rollout of the Muslim Ban, failed attempts to build a Border Wall, and an executive order declaring all undocumented people targets for his deportation force. What followed were relentless attacks on DACA and Dreamers, failed bids to terminate Temporary Protected Status, cruel attempts to rip breastfeeding children from their mother’s breasts, raids on food processing facilities in Mississippi, and more.
“A week after telling a white supremacist insurrectionist mob he ‘loved’ them as they invaded the halls of Congress with his encouragement, Trump is pivoting to his typical punching bag: mothers and fathers seeking seeking asylum, looking for safety for their children. This month marks two years since Trump created the horrific Remain in Mexico program, which contributed to the separation of thousands of families, and resulted in tens of thousands of more languishing in refugee camps and shelters in the midst of a lethal pandemic. This policy represents not only one of the darkest moments of the Trump Presidency, but in our nation’s history.
“We should make no mistake that Trump and his allies will attempt to use this moment to project this Administration’s border policies as a success, but we must never allow the revision of his devastating moment in our history.
“Rather, we call on the Biden Administration, and the new Congress, to take this opportunity to fully turn the page on the cruel and chaotic policies. ‘Restoring the soul of the nation’ begins with ending Remain in Mexico, welcoming people seeking asylum, and stopping family separations. Building Back Better means not just undoing Trump harm but that we put immigrants fighting on the frontlines of the pandemic on a fast track to citizenship as we work to provide an opportunity for all 11 million undocumented immigrants across the country a pathway to citizenship. President-elect Biden must be steadfast in his efforts to roll back the harm of the Trump Administration, hold accountable those who committed human rights atrocities, and build back better by building the immigration system our families deserve.”
Background
FWD.us recently released a report detailing the human impact of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, and specifically focused on the consequences of the family separation policies at the border.
