In response to reports that a border security compromise that would effectively eviscerate the right to seek asylum may appear in an unrelated emergency funding package, Gina Cummings, Vice President of Advocacy, Alliances & Policy at Oxfam America, a global organization fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice, said:
“Oxfam strongly urges the Senate to reject extreme immigration demands that gut access to asylum and harm people seeking safety in exchange for unrelated emergency supplemental funding. The $10 billion that President Biden is requesting for humanitarian assistance is sorely needed – it will save the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable people. But we cannot pay for the lives of people abroad by sacrificing the lives, dignity, and rights of people arriving at our border – or the values we have always aspired to as a nation.
"We need to pass a clean supplemental funding package without the inclusion of xenophobic policies that would permanently undermine decades of U.S. and international law. Congress must instead support serious, thoughtful and effective efforts to improve our immigration system: increase funding to improve asylum processing, reduce backlogs and work permit wait-times, fund legal counsel, and resource frontline communities’ shelter and support services. We can manage our border effectively with balanced and humane solutions.”
Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. We offer lifesaving support in times of crisis and advocate for economic justice, gender equality, and climate action. We demand equal rights and equal treatment so that everyone can thrive, not just survive. The future is equal. Join us at oxfamamerica.org.
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