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BIDEN URGED TO ACT NOW AS TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PLAN LOOMS  
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Jessica Corbett
December 2, 2024
Common Dreams [[link removed]]

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_ "President Biden must use the power of the pen to protect those
seeking sanctuary from the coming deportation machine that will crush
the human rights of our immigrant neighbors," said one Amnesty leader.
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Stephen Miller, the architect of the family separation policy, speaks
at a rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Suburban
Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, on October 26, 2024., Drew
Angerer/AFP

 

As an estimated 11.7 million
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undocumented immigrants brace for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's
return to office, Amnesty International
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called for immediate action from the outgoing Biden administration to
"protect people seeking safety."

While Amnesty and many other migrant rights advocates have forcefully
criticized [[link removed]]
President Joe Biden's immigration policy
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dehumanizing attacks
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promises [[link removed]]
of mass deportations, and history of forcibly separating
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families at the southern border have heightened fears of what his
second term—with a Republican Congress—will mean for immigrants
with and without papers.

"Time and time again, President Biden said he was committed to a
humane immigration system, and this is [his] final opportunity to help
those coming to the United States in search of safety and a new
beginning, like his ancestors did many years ago," Amnesty
International USA executive director Paul O'Brien said
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of a president who often references
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his family's Irish roots.

"President Biden must use the power of the pen to protect those
seeking sanctuary from the coming deportation machine that will crush
the human rights of our immigrant neighbors and those who have dreams
of finding refuge here," O'Brien argued.

"President-elect Trump already has plans in place to start a massive
deportation effort and completely gut the very foundation of asylum on
day one of his second term."

Specifically, Amnesty is urging Biden to issue new Temporary Protected
Status (TPS) and deferred enforced departure designations, extend
authorization dates for individuals who have already been paroled
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into the United States, and expand legal pathways and protections for
farmworkers and undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United
States as children.

The group also wants the president to prioritize additional resources
for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to address the long
backlogs and issue protections for those who have applications pending
for advanced parole, asylum, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,
TPS, and work permits.

The group is further calling on him to "stop detention expansion
efforts, shut down the most problematic detention centers that have
long perpetuated violence and harm toward people seeking safety, and
release vulnerable individuals and those who are eligible for TPS and
parole."

Amnesty's demands of Biden come just seven weeks away from Trump's
inauguration—and the Republican has already made clear that he's
prepared to make immigration policy a priority with some of his
leadership picks: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for homeland security
secretary; family separation architect Stephen Miller as deputy chief
of staff for policy; and former U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement acting Director Tom Homan as "border czar."

As _USA Today_reported
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Sunday, Miller and Homan have promoted different approaches to Trump's
pledged deportations. Under an ICE-focused plan that Homan laid out
shortly before the election, it would be "business as usual, but times
two," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American
Immigration Council, told the newspaper.

"Stephen Miller is absolutely apocalyptic about what mass deportations
would look like on his end," Reichlin-Melnick continued. "He talks
about detention camps in Texas with very clear, specific operational
details."

According to the newspaper:

By all accounts, it appears Trump is siding with Miller for now.

Trump recently confirmed
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reports that he plans to declare a national emergency and use the U.S.
military
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to conduct mass deportations.

But no matter how Trump carries out mass deportations,
Reichlin-Melnick said the damage to the United States will be
significant.

"Even if it doesn't end up being 11 million people, the fear has real
effects on the people who become the target of this very hungry
deportation machine."

Given the looming threat, Amy Fischer, director of refugee and migrant
rights at Amnesty International USA, stressed the urgency of Biden
acting now.

"President-elect Trump already has plans in place to start a massive
deportation effort and completely gut the very foundation of asylum on
day one of his second term. There simply is no time to lose," Fischer
said. "We cannot allow the continued disintegration of the country's
immigration system and the targeted rhetoric and violence toward
people seeking safety at the border and new arrivals thriving in
cities and towns across the United States."

"Some of these actions that President Biden must take will help slow
down any mass deportation efforts and will send a strong message to
people seeking safety that they are welcome in the United States,"
Fischer added. "This is his last chance."

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Jessica Corbett is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.

* Amnesty International
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