For Immediate Release
December 20th, 2022
Washington DC, The UndocuBlack Network condemns the 217th Congress and the Biden Administration for falling woefully short on their promises to immigrant communities. The bill text for the Omnibus glaringly omits any form of relief to various immigrant populations, while preserving and amplifying harmful enforcement policies. At a time when DACA is on life support, TPS designations for majority Black countries are few and far in between, and even more still a remaining 7-8 million undocumented people face no automony to permanent residency. Mass deportations and expulsions continue at the hands of a Biden-Harris run DHS and with this background, Congress had the opportunity and obligation to act. Instead, they chose to funnel billions of dollars to ICE and CBP while leaving millions of people’s lives in limbo. The bill makes unconscionable concessions to grant the Department of Homeland and Security items that are firmly against the rights, liberties or interests of immigrants which plainly include:
Billions of dollars of funding for ICE and CBP: Although advocacy groups such as UndocuBlack Network and our Defund Hate partners urged lawmakers to cut funding to ICE and CBP, the current bill increased ICE and CBP’s funding from $8.3 billion in FY22 to $8.4 billion in FY23.
Maintaining the status quo of the Anti-Black immigration detention system: The FY23 omnibus will continue the same funding amount ICE has received to cage immigrants since FY21 - which allows for the detention of about 34,000 people. Under this spending bill, Black migrants will continue to languish in immigration detention far longer than their non-Black counterparts, and have higher bond amounts for release.
Targeting of People with Visa Overstays: Visa Overstays. The current bill requires DHS to submit an updated report outlining its strategy for overstay enforcement and deterrence no later than 180 days after the date of passage of the bill. The bill further requires DHS to detail ongoing actions to identify immigrants who have overstayed their visas/ track overstays for enforcement action. If passed this provision stands to put thousands of people at risk of deportation, many who are Black immigrants.
Funding for hiring more Border Patrol agents/ surveillance: A year after the infamous Del Rio images of Border Patrol agents seemingly whipping Black migrants, the spending bill provides funding for 19,855 Border Patrol agents. The bill also increases funding for surveillance border technology such as data sharing systems, which will inevitably infining on border communities and migrants rights to privacy,
A Deliberate Omission of Life Saving Immigration provisions: The current text for the omnibus does not include any provision that would provide green cards and a pathway to citizenship to various immigrant populations including immigrant youth and TPS holders.
Voting for this bill after a long year of uncertainty for immigrant communities, several deaths at the border– a direct result of harmful enforcement policies, and over 20,000 deportations/expulsions to majority Black countries such as Haiti, would be a vote for hate and anti-Blackness.
Patrice Lawrence, Executive Director of UndocuBlack Network said "Over the years and in fact in recent weeks we have seen many Members of Congress reaffirming their position as champions of immigrants. Anyone who has the interest of immigrants, all immigrants regardless of skin color,creed, national origin or gender must reject this omnibus package. There is nothing that provides certainty for Undocumented people at a time when the stakes are at an all time high. There are no protections but instead countless repercussions and plans to investigate and criminalize immigrants such as visa overstays, detained asylum seekers or round up and terrorize immigrants with long lasting ties in the a united States. This bill harms immigrant communities and must not pass. We demand green cards for so many of us who have no other pathway to permanent status and seek the elegant, simple option of updating the registry date so that we may autonomously adjust immigration status and access resources, certainty and a fuller life."
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