The UndocuBlack Networks Celebrates the Relentless Efforts of Haitian Community Members and Advocates Which Led to the Extension and Redesignation of TPS for Haiti

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 6, 2022

Contact: Bethelhem Negash, bethelhem@undocublack.org 

Washington, DC – The UndocuBlack Network celebrates the hard earned victory that is the extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. This decision came after months of advocacy led by impacted community members, Black immigrant organizations, and allies. International bodies such as the  UN Security Council are considering interventions in Haiti and describing the situation on the ground as  “absolutely nightmarish…” due to civil unrest caused by years of post-colonial and imperialist meddling in Haitian affairs, gang violence, an economic crisis and a cholera outbreak that is wreaking havoc in the nation. These country conditions  meet and exceed the legal standard needed for a TPS designation, yet what should have been a simple humanitarian choice took months of strenuous efforts of issuing multiple letters, petitions and calls to the Biden-Harris administration. 

“We should not have to convince an administration that touts racial equity as a priority,  that it is not a good idea to expel and deport Black migrants into a country that is both on literal and figurative fire. ”

Temporary Protected Status is a form of humanitarian relief, created by Congress to be used judiciously. Dire conditions such as the ones we are witnessing in Haiti are a textbook example of why TPS exists. There is an overwhelming amount of reporting and evidence which affirms that any person deported or expelled to Haiti could face imminent harm or even death. It is with this understanding of the dangers on the ground in Haiti that the UndocuBlack Network  breathes a massive sigh of relief after yesterday’s decisions.

Haddy Gassama, Policy and Advocacy Director of the UndocuBlack Network, said “ We are grateful for the leadership of our partners at Haitian Bridge Alliance and other organizations, many of whom supported a recent  letter calling for the extension and redesignation of TPS for Haiti. Yet, we also hold the frustrating truth that getting to a yes on a redesignation of  TPS for Haiti should not have taken non-stop advocacy up until the eleventh hour. We should not have to convince an administration that touts racial equity as a priority,  that it is not a good idea to expel and deport Black migrants into a country that is both on literal and figurative fire. As the Biden-Harris administration weighs options for processing migrants after a Title-42 wind down and Congress considers a legislative framework that could codify Title-42, we urge the administration and Members of Congress to lean towards humanely welcoming migrants in a dignified manner. We also call for the same humanitarian protection given to our Haitian brothers and sisters through TPS to be extended to other nations such as Mauritania and Mali, both of which meet the legal standards for a TPS designation.” 

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The UndocuBlack Network receives largest-ever grant award from the Mackenzie Scott Foundation

 November 16, 2022

Washington D.C. — The UndocuBlack Network (UBN) has been announced as a recipient of a one-time grant from the Mackenzie Scott Foundation. This award is the largest the Network has received to date from an individual or an organization. The Network plans to engage in thoughtful, deliberate stewardship of the resources to develop projects and frameworks that focus on stabilizing, sustaining and strengthening the UndocuBlack Community.  

The UndocuBlack Network is a multi-generational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources, and advocates to transform the realities of Black migrants to thrive and live life to the fullest.  The Network has ushered in victories for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF), the first piece of legislation passed in the last twenty years to provide green cards to undocumented people. UBN has also fought for the continuation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as it faced termination in the courts and continues to fight for the legalization of all 11 million undocumented people. The Network has spearheaded powerful media narratives centering Black undocumented people while combatting the criminalization of Black lives through unjust deportation and detention. We do this work through some mental wellness lens, centering the dignity and well-being of our membership.  

The Mackenzie Scott Foundation is a US-based foundation founded and led by Mackenzie Scott, a philanthropist, author and business woman who has been in the news for donating $8 billion in the past two years to nonprofit organizations.  

UBN deeply appreciates this grant and how it will facilitate the work that we do in our community. As truth tellers, we also acknowledge that wealth of this magnitude and its giving vehicles are a byproduct of the stolen resources and exploitation of labor of Black and Indigenous communities around the world. By default, UndocuBlack's ability to accept and make use of this grant– even if for the purpose of continuing to fight systems of oppression and dismantling racism – is a privilege. We name and recognize that systems that foster structural inequalities are the same systems that motor force surplus wealth into philanthropy. We hope this vote of confidence in the UndocuBlack Community will inspire others to support our work to bring about true collective liberation.  

“The UndocuBlack Network is elated about this grant award from the Mackenzie Scott Foundation,” says the UndocuBlack Network’s Executive Director Patrice Lawrence. “At the same time, we acknowledge that wealth of this magnitude is a result of continued exploitation of Black and Indigenous people around the world. UBN has always been fearless and visionary in our approach to advocating for our members and fighting for equitable and liberatory policies. We want our people to thrive and exist in a place of ease. We understand that sometimes the difference between an easeful existence and one riddled with fear and anxiety comes down to access to resources. This funding will enable us to develop creative solutions and continue carrying out the vital work we’ve been doing since 2016.”

This award recognizes the UndocuBlack Network's commitment, mission and work to advocate for and stand with its communities. To learn more about our work with the communities we serve and to stay engaged with the efforts these resources will support, visit the UndocuBlack Network at www.undocublack.org.

Haitian Bridge Alliance, the UndocuBlack Network, and Over 280 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to Reject Plans to House Haitian Refugees in Guantánamo Bay

WASHINGTON — The Haitian Bridge Alliance, the UndocuBlack Network, and over 280 civil and human rights organizations sent a letter calling on President Biden to protect Haitian asylum seekers. The administration must not send Haitians seeking safety back to Haiti, third countries, or detain them in Guantánamo Bay.  

The letter, published today by the Haitian Bridge Alliance and the UndocuBlack Network, outlines the United States’ pattern of disparate and discriminatory treatment towards Haitian refugees seeking protection and the prior human rights abuses that Haitians previously suffered from while detained at Guantánamo Bay. The letter also details concrete steps the Biden administration can take to protect Haitian asylum seekers, uphold human rights, and follow through on commitments to advance racial equity. 

“It is past time for the United States, and the Biden administration, to pursue these rights-respecting actions, and end the pattern of discriminatory and disparate treatment inflicted on Haitians seeking U.S. protection,” the letter states. “During your administration, Haitians have been met with summary push-backs at the hands of the U.S. Coast Guard. People have died and continue to die at sea while seeking protection at U.S. shores. Rather than protecting them, the United States further victimizes these individuals by returning them to danger.” 

The letter continues, “Your administration has the power to turn the page on these harmful and discriminatory policies. We urge you to do right by Haitian people seeking protection, whether by land or at sea, to live up to our humanitarian obligations, and build an equitable humanitarian protection system that welcomes those seeking refuge.” 

A PDF of the full letter and signatories can be found here. 

‘Uncovering the Truth’: New Report Confirms Disproportionate Abuse and Violence Against Black Migrants in Immigration Detention

Study finds disturbing pattern of racism, violence and harm perpetrated by ICE against Black migrants

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Black migrants are subject to abuse and a disturbing pattern of racism, violence and harm at disproportionately higher incidence than non-Black migrants while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a groundbreaking report released today by Black-led and immigrants rights organizations. 

Authored by the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP), Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), UndocuBlack Network, and Freedom for Immigrants (FFI), the first-of-its-kind study draws on nearly 17,000 call records from FFI’s National Immigration Detention Hotline spanning a six year period. 

The data reveal a disturbing pattern of abuse perpetrated against Black migrants by ICE, private detention contractors and officials at contracting jails. Key findings include: 

• 28 percent of all abuse-related reports made to the FFI hotline come from Black migrants, despite accounting for only only six percent of the total ICE detention population; 

• In some detention facilities in Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, Black migrants are almost twice as likely to experience abuse inside detention compared to non-Black migrants; 

• Black non-binary migrants are 3.5 times more likely to experience abuse in immigration detention;

• A new FOIA request corroborated a previous study that found that 24 percent of all people in solitary confinement are Black;

• Over 53 percent of the most high-intensity and life-threatening cases that FFI intervened on in the six year period were on behalf of Black migrants. 

“No one should live in fear or face punishment like this, especially not for the color of their skin or where they were born,” said Moussa Haba, an author of the report and monitoring fellow with Freedom for Immigrants who was previously detained by ICE. “The United States calls itself the land of the free, but for this to be true, Black migrants like me deserve to live in freedom, not from behind bars. What I experienced in detention was the opposite of freedom. Significant trauma was inflicted upon me during this time. I was subject to an unending racism in detention, and our new report demonstrates that I am not alone. It’s clear that detention must end to stop this cycle of abuse—and our fight to abolish detention is really a fight for freedom.”

“Being detained as an immigrant and having to fight for my freedom, I have faced discrimination based on my race,” said Marlissa, a 22-year-old Bahamian woman from South Florida currently detained at the Baker County Detention Center in Florida. “I have faced a lot of racism, a lot of disrespect, and a lot of unfairness in this system. I was threatened with solitary confinement after officers used racial slurs against me. Being detained, it’s like you have no say and you have no rights. It’s as if they look at you like you're beneath them, and the door is just being slammed in your face like you're an animal. Once released and given a second chance, the first thing I want to do is see my family because it's been almost three years. Then I want to continue my enrollment in college to follow my dream, and I want to continue to try to be successful in life and be a role model to my siblings and society.” 

“It is not shocking that Black migrants in detention describe their conditions as torture, because detention is torture,” said Ronald Claude, director of policy & advocacy with Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI). “Our report ‘Uncovering the Truth’ makes it clear that the U.S. immigration system is anti-Black. Detention is one of the enduring legacies of this country’s history of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Collecting race and ethnicity data is critical as it makes visible the Black people detained by the U.S. government.”

““The profit-driven mass incarceration system of the U.S. is built on the backs of formerly enslaved Black people and Black migrants,” ”

— Haddy Gassama

“The profit-driven mass incarceration system of the U.S. is built on the backs of formerly enslaved Black people and Black migrants,” said Haddy Gassama, policy and advocacy director of UndocuBlack Network. “White supremacist sentiments and anti-Blackness are not only endemic in the current systems of policing and immigration enforcement, they were the driving factors for the existence of these inhumane institutions. The U.S. has the world's largest carceral system, and Black folks bear the heaviest brunt of its cruelty. Immigration is a Black issue, and as long as the practice of detention exists, Black migrants will always face anti-Blackness within the system that was built to uniquely harm them. The findings of this report affirm the call for the complete abolition of all forms of detention.”

"Detention is abusive, harmful and foremost anti-Black,” said Zack Mohamed, deportation defense coordinator with the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP). “We need to abolish this practice, as it denies the dignity and humanity of migrants. This report not only lists the harms and abuse, but also has recommendations, and we call on the Biden administration and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to exercise the power they currently have to abolish detention."

"Anti-Black racism and violence is a systemic, defining feature of immigration detention,” said Amanda Díaz, national hotline manager with Freedom for Immigrants. “Rooted in white supremacy, immigration detention is an extension of the racist mass incarceration system, functioning as yet another institution designed to oppress and criminalize Black people in the U.S. Our findings affirm the truth that Black advocates in detention have been calling attention to for years: Detained Black migrants are targeted with anti-Black racism, far higher levels of abuse, and unfair outcomes. The Biden administration has effectively condoned this abuse by continuing to rely on detention and other deterrence policies. We must end the dehumanization of Black migrants and the detention system that sustains this legacy of anti-Black violence. It’s past time Black migrants were welcomed with human dignity, not cages.” 

The study’s findings add to a growing body of evidence of anti-Black racism in immigration detention, which has previously been documented in past reports, civil rights complaints and memos to DHS published or filed by Black-led groups and other immigrants rights groups. The internal organizing and advocacy work of detained Black migrants has been critical to establishing this pattern of racism and disparate treatment. 

To end the systemic abuse of Black migrants, the groups call for an end to immigration detention. Among other administrative, legislative, humanitarian and state-level strategies, advocates also urge the Biden administration to publicly recognize and condemn the rampant abuse of Black migrants and use its discretion to release Black migrants to allow them to resolve their immigration proceedings from the safety of their families and communities. 

Read the full report here.

Para leer este reporte en español, haga click aquí.

Pour lire ce rapport en français, cliquez ici. 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND 
The detainment of Black immigrants stems from a long legacy of violence, control and abuse of Black people in the United States. In recent decades, the immigration detention system has served to further entrench the mass incarceration and criminalization of Black people. Like all Black people in the U.S., Black migrants are stopped, searched and arrested at higher rates than non-Black migrants, and are disproportionately represented among detained immigrants facing deportation in immigration court on criminal grounds. 

Concerningly, anti-Black abuse in detention is effectively obscured by the government since ICE does not gather racial demographic data nor provide any public information about its data collection practices regarding race, a practice that is standard among other governmental agencies and law enforcement. 

Despite the ongoing abuse and racism, Black migrants continue to resist, speak out and advocate for their freedom. The report documents several examples of resistance across detention facilities in the South, where a lasting legacy of Black and Indigenous-led movements and resistance persist, oftentimes in the same jails and prisons constructed in the eras of Jim Crow, forced penal labor and mass incarceration. 

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ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS

The UndocuBlack Network is a community of currently and formerly undocumented Black migrants fighting to shift narratives, promote wellness, while advocating for policies that allow Black immigrants to not only survive but thrive.

Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP) builds and centers the power of Black LGBTQIA+ migrants to ensure the liberation of all Black people through community-building, political education, creating access to direct services, and organizing across borders.

Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) fights for the rights of African American and Black migrants through organizing, legal advocacy, research, policy, and narrative building to improve the conditions of Black communities by advancing racial justice and migrant rights. 

Freedom for Immigrants (FFI) is devoted to abolishing immigration detention, while ending the isolation of people currently suffering in this profit-driven system. FFI monitors the human rights abuses faced by immigrants detained by ICE through a national hotline and network of volunteer detention visitors, while promoting community-based services that welcome immigrants into the social fabric of the United States. 

The Fifth Circuit is the latest to continue the pattern of toying with DACA recipient lives through endless litigation

Yesterday’s ruling sends case back to the lower courts

Washington, D.C. — Yesterday evening, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Texas v United States against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program. The panel of judges  remanded  the case back to Judge Hanen in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas to ultimately decide the future  of the program. While the court ruled that the DACA program is unlawful, this ruling maintains a stay that will allow for current DACA recipients to continue renewing their applications. 

The UndocuBlack Network remains undeterred  in our fight to defend DACA  while demanding that the Biden-Harris Administration and its Democrat-led Congress act now. We’ve always known that DACA was not enough and that the program would keep members of our community in legal limbo, holding their breath between court rulings. Green cards and eventual citizenship for all immigrant families and communities is the only way for our people to truly live in this country, rather than just exist in the spaces between litigation results and temporary program deadlines. 

Yesterday’s Fifth Circuit ruling demonstrated that litigations over DACA are unabating and in the absence of a permanent protection, DACA and other temporary protections will continue to be at the mercy and whim of court adjudications that will continue to toy with the lives of our communities. 

Patrice Lawrence, Executive Director of UndocuBlack Said: The Biden-Harris Administration has the trifecta, the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate. That remains true at least until January 2023. Despite of all this power, what also remains true is that since the beginning of this presidency, the Biden-Harris Administration, like previous administrations, have treated undocumented people with little to no regard for their dignity. Through lost opportunities to create a DACA rule that allowed for processing of new applications, and the lack of legislation that would provide our people with green cards and opportunities to apply for citizenship, the Biden-Harris Administration has failed us. However, these harms can be remedied before the end of the 117th Congress. It is still possible for Congress to pass  legislation that permanently protects all undocumented people regardless of age, background, gender, how they pray or their ethnicity. Black undocumented people have waited too long, organized too hard for our communities to be perpetually pushed aside and tossed around at the whim of the U.S. judicial system. We know Judge Hanen's anti-immigrant track record and can predict that he will likely not rule favorably for DACA recipients. We also reiterate that DACA is not and was never enough. The time for elected officials to put action where mere words have always been is now. We need passage of legislation that will provide green cards and citizenship for all before January 2023.” 

Ronnie James, Community Engagement Coordinator of UndocuBlack and DACA Recipient said: “While I am grateful my time-bound subscription to the US has survived another court case. I am keenly aware that my future depends on the decisions of yet another judge. DACA remains insufficient and insecure. Myself, fellow DACA recipients, and all other immigrants without permanent status/security deserve the ability to adjust our status through green cards. Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration have the power to do this before the end of the year. Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 by passing (S.4974) would provide access to lawful permanent residence for me and up to 8 million individuals.”

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Black Immigrant Organizations File FOIA Lawsuit Demanding Transparency on the Abuse of Haitians in Del Rio Last Year

Washington D.C.— Black-led immigrant justice organizations Haitian Bridge Alliance, UndocuBlack Network, and African Communities Together filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) complaint in the Southern District of New York seeking records from the U.S. government on the abuse of Haitian asylum seekers in Del Rio, TX last year. Nearly a year after the original request was submitted on October 1, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has produced a single document, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have produced nothing. Justice Action Center, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Innovation Law Lab are co-counsel.

The lawsuit alleges that in September 2021, around 15,000 Haitian asylum seekers fleeing persecution arrived in Del Rio, Texas. Though the Biden administration knew of their pending arrival, it failed to prepare adequate resources to humanely receive these individuals and families exercising their legal right to seek safety. Instead, for two weeks, the administration subjected them to horrific conditions and racist abuse by CBP that included lack of food, water, urgent medical care, and verbal and physical assault. The Biden administration then proceeded to expel Haitians en masse back to danger—including pregnant mothers and infants as young as nine-days-old—totaling more than 25,000 Haitians since September 19, 2021.

“Nearly a year after the original request was submitted on October 1, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has produced a single document, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have produced nothing.”

"As we just marked the one-year anniversary of the U.S. government's abuse of Haitian asylum seekers in Del Rio, we are disappointed but not surprised that we have to litigate this FOIA request," said Guerline Jozef, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. "Since last September, the Biden administration has skirted accountability at every turn: DHS conducted a sham investigation that focused on the mere 30-minute period captured on camera rather than the full two weeks that Haitians were subjected to abuse. They also failed to interview a single Haitian victim or witness yet concluded that there was no use of excess force. We vehemently oppose these efforts at impunity and hope this FOIA litigation is a step towards the transparency and accountability that impacted Haitians deserve."

"Anti-Blackness is a core tenet of U.S. immigration policy," said Haddy Gassama, National Director of Policy and Advocacy at the UndocuBlack Network. "Not only is this evidenced by the government's abuse of Haitian asylum seekers in Del Rio, but also by its attempts to avoid accountability. For years, Black immigrant advocates have challenged the violent treatment of Black migrants; while the structures and systems that have enabled this cruelty to endure are not new, it is the responsibility of this current administration to rectify those harms. That begins with transparency, ending deterrence policies like Title 42 and ensuring protections are put in place for people seeking safety."

"Since Del Rio, the Biden administration has expelled more than 25,000 Haitians and many more still face uncertainty and discrimination along the border," said Diana Konaté, Policy Director at African Communities Together. "We file this lawsuit in solidarity with the thousands who were abused in Del Rio and who are still fighting for their fundamental, human right to seek safety. DHS's blatantly one-sided investigation into Del Rio with its deliberate failure to interview a single Haitian migrant illustrates the urgency and necessity of this litigation to produce the documents we are entitled to under law."

Inhumane, Racist Policy Title 42 Must End Now!

Communities United for Status and Protection Statement on the injunction to block the termination of Title 42

For Immediate Release

May 23, 2022

Media Inquiry: carolyn@wearehome.org

Nationwide - Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP), a national collaborative of grassroots immigrant community organizations, denounces the injunction by Judge Robert R. Summerhays to block Title 42 from terminating today on Monday, May 23rd. Under the false guise of public health, Republican Attorney Generals coordinated legal action against the Biden-Harris administration to uphold the ban on entry of asylum-seekers under the policy indefinitely. As a collaborative representing African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and Asian immigrants, we know all too well the double standards by which this country’s immigration policies are applied to Black and Brown immigrants and call on the administration to quickly seek a stay for the injunction and to hold steadfast to their commitment of racial equity under their leader. We stand shoulder to shoulder in resistance to the continuation of racist, anti-Black policies that affect our membership. 

Guerline Jozef, Co-Founder and Executive Director at Haitian Bridge Alliance said: “Haitian Bridge Alliance has been advocating for an end to this Trump-era policy since April 2020 as a response to the increased expulsions of Haitian asylum seekers. In just a little over a year under this administration, over 23,000 people, including pregnant women and children have been sent to Haiti, most being expelled. Judge Summerhays is not only upholding a policy that runs contrary to both domestic and international laws, the Judge also decided to uphold a racist policy that returns our most vulnerable individuals to danger. We ask for the Biden-Harris administration to keep their promise to immigrants and their families by ensuring a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system. This begins with an immediate push to seek a stay of this injunction. We also call on all democratic-elected leaders to stand on the right side of history by not supporting the Lankford-Sinema bill, which would keep Title 42 in place, thereby continuing to shut the border and expel asylum seekers without access to seek asylum.” 

Since the implementation of Title 42 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been used to cruelly expel over a million people to countries experiencing dangerous conditions or along the Southern border, despite the CDC’s decision to rescind the order and opposition by public health experts. We also call on the administration to immediately halt any more deportation flights to Haiti, which is now up to 7 flights a day from the United States and the only country to be receiving flights on weekends under the guise of Title 42. We cannot condemn Title 42 without denouncing the unjust removal of Haitians. We are calling on Congress and the administration to live by our values and equally welcome those who come to our country seeking safety with dignity and respect. 

“The adoption of Title 42 was rooted in white supremacist motives and the desire to ban access to asylum from the southern border. Title 42 has never been about public health.”

Haddy Gassama, National Director of Policy and Advocacy at UndocuBlack said: “As a network of Black immigrants, we are all too familiar with this country's history of anti-Blackness within the immigration system and all systems of policy making at large. The adoption of Title 42 was rooted in white supremacist motives and the desire to ban access to asylum from the southern border. Title 42 has never been about public health. We cannot separate the uptick in white nationalist violence within the interior of the country and the violence of Title 42 at the border. Black and Brown lives are at risk in both of these interlinked ideologies and policies. To that end, we urge the Biden-Harris administration to keep the promises they made just last week in response to the massacre in Buffalo, to honor and protect Black lives, by pursuing a stay on  this cruel injunction. The administration must continue to pursue a full termination of Title 42, with a  commitment to rebuilding the U.S. asylum system in a manner that does not disproportionately harm any particular demographic over others.” 

This administration campaigned on promises to end inhumane, draconian Trump border policies, uphold U.S. laws and treaty obligations to protect refugees and immigrant children, and adopt COVID-19 measures based in science. We call on the Biden-Harris administration to fulfill those promises and reflect the values of this country by welcoming those seeking asylum inside the United States with compassion and dignity.

Diana Konaté, Policy Director at African Communities Together said: “This is not only disappointing, it is a true betrayal. Title 42 has allowed for state-sanctioned discrimination and attacks against all migrants at the border, but in particular, Black migrants who have been seeking refuge in the U.S. This should have been a moment of relief and a victory for our communities celebrating the Biden-Harris administration's reversal of the draconian Trump-era policy. Instead, we are faced with a continued reminder of the ways in which racist policies like this are continued to be upheld and valued by those that are supposed to represent and defend us.” 

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Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP) is a collaborative of grassroots immigrant community organizations working together to win permanent status for our members and communities, and build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers the needs and experiences of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and API immigrants.

The UndocuBlack Network (UBN), founded in 2016, is a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people that fosters community, facilitates access to resources and contributes to transforming the realities of our people so we are thriving and living our fullest lives. UBN has chapters in New York City, the DC/MD/VA area, and Los Angeles, CA.

Adhikaar (Nepali: rights) is a New York-based non-profit, organizing the Nepali-speaking community to promote human rights and social justice for all. We are a women-led workers’ center and community center focused on workers’ rights, immigration rights, access to affordable healthcare and language justice. We organize the Nepali-speaking community to create broader social change; build coalitions on advocacy campaigns that address our community's needs; center women and the most impacted communities in our leadership; engage members in participatory action research; and implement community education, workplace development training, and support services.

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT empowers African immigrants to integrate socially, get ahead economically, and engage civically. We connect African immigrants to critical services, help Africans develop as leaders, and organize our communities on the issues that matter.

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and provides  bond support and humanitarian, legal, and other social services, with a particular focus on Black immigrants, the Haitian community, women, LGBTQAI+ individuals and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. Since 2015, HBA has provided services to asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, in U.S. detention, and during U.S. immigration proceedings.

National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) is a national consortium of independent Arab American community-based organizations. The Network’s primary mission is to build the capacity of Arab American non-profit organizations that focus on the needs and issues impacting their local community while collectively addressing those issues nationally.

UndocuBlack Network and NAKASEC Condemn Recent Mass Shootings and Demand Accountability from Policy Makers

May 18, 2022 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Bethelhem T. Negash, bethelhem@undocublack.org

                Rachel Koelzer, rachel@nakasec.org

Nationwide – On May 14th, a white supremacist targeted the Black community, killing 10 people and wounding 3, at a Buffalo, NY supermarket. In Dallas, Texas, there have been 3 recent shootings presumed to be connected, the most recent taking place on May 11th at Asian-owned businesses. In addition to these racially-motivated acts of extreme violence, there have been 198 mass shootings this year.

This violence is symptomatic of the larger and deeper issues of anti-Blackness and anti-Asian sentiments in the United States. The concept of white supremacy via the violent oppression and subjugation of people is what the U.S. was built on. To that end, it is no surprise that absurdities like the Replacement Theory continue to fuel the flames of race-based hatred and subsequent violence in this country. The recent murders of people from our communities show that anti-Black and anti-immigration theories are two sides of the same dangerous coin. White supremacy is woven into all levels of this country’s political and social systems. Structural issues, such as lack of access to healthcare, affordable housing, quality education, and other necessary resources in addition to the refusal of elected officials to regulate hate speech and equitable gun control, are also forms of state-sanctioned violence. Every person from Buffalo to Laguna Woods, Dallas to Las Vegas, Atlanta and beyond, deserves to live safely and fully, with their humanity recognized and respected. As we mourn the senseless loss of life and sit in our dignified rage, we call shame on all elected officials, media pundits, and others who’ve sowed the seeds of hate by legitimizing horribly divisive, dangerous, and false ideas. We call shame on all elected officials who look the other way as hateful rhetoric is used to justify policy decisions that further harm Black, Asian, and immigrant communities. We affirm that every person deserves to live without fear of harm or death because of the skin they exist in.

Haddy Gassama, National Director of Policy and Advocacy with the UndocuBlack Network, said: “As a network and team of Black immigrants, we are gutted, heartbroken, and enraged by the hateful murders that took place this past weekend. We are intimately familiar with the face of white supremacy. We’ve seen it from its immigration enforcement side as we watch elected officials look the other way as harmful policies, such as Title 42, are in danger of being perpetuated. We’ve seen white supremacy from its criminalization and mass incarceration side as our people continue to languish in state, federal, and detention cages. We’ve witnessed our people murdered in broad daylight in the name of “law and order” at the hands of those who are supposed to “protect and serve.” It is 2022 and whips and chains are still very much the tools of choice against our people. The only thing more violent than the aforementioned is the rhetoric used to incite violence and justify the murders of our people. Replacement Theory is no longer a fringe conspiracy theory as it has been legitimized and normalized by those who sit in some of the highest positions of political power in this country. Anti-Blackness has existed in the DNA of the United States since its inception and the violence we are seeing is just another iteration of this. As we mourn the loss of life and the generations of white supremacist policies that lead to these mass shootings, we must hold those in power accountable. To any elected official or media pundit who used their platform to spread the concept of Replacement Theory, to any elected official who stood by and did nothing to condemn this theory: there is blood on your hands.” 

Jung Woo Kim, Co-Director of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC), shared: “Our hearts go out to the victims, survivors, and their loved ones who mourn and grieve during these difficult times. We are saddened and outraged at the continued rise in violence against Black, Asian, and other marginalized communities that is in direct connection with the rise of emboldened white supremacy and its power in the U.S.’ systems and structures.

The fact that Congress refuses to act, despite repeated and frequent mass shootings, clearly shows they value financial profit over people’s lives. At this point, the U.S. Congress is complicit in this violence. They are not doing their jobs and unless they act now to legislate against white supremacy and violence, they should all be fired. We need to remind them that they work for us, the people – not corporations, the gun industry, or big money. Our government should model non-violence and care for people and work towards healing and unity. We will not allow our communities to be pitted against one another and will instead continue to work together towards solutions that make society healthier and safer for all of us.”

TAKE ACTION NOW: We encourage folks to take action and support the Black community. For a list of charitable organizations in WNY, can be found here.

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Both the UndocuBlack Network and NAKASEC – member-based organizations – have been collectively and separately fighting against the marginalization, demonization, and vilification of their immigrant communities within and outside the immigration spaces. Their collaborative work includes policy advocacy, community wellness that centers healing and solidarity, and contending against institutionalized narratives that often erase their communities' unique experiences at the intersection of race and immigration.