 |
Friend, The tragic year behind us has inflicted deep pain on our nation. After more than a quarter million lives were lost to the pandemic, many of us entered 2021 with heavy hearts and the knowledge that healing from the year’s turmoil will take significant time. In the words of President Biden, “few people in our nation’s history have found a time more challenging than the time we are in now.” However, there is hope on the horizon. We hope that you will allow yesterday’s peaceful transition of power to inspire hope and optimism in your heart. Yesterday, we began making history we can be excited about. The swearing in of Biden and Vice President Harris, the first woman, Black woman and Asian American elected to the office, marks a new chapter of our nation’s story. The American people chose Biden and Harris to put our country on a new path, and that work begins now. During his first days in office, Biden has already made several important motions. Biden’s COVID-19 response is grounded in a commitment to prioritizing all efforts to protect our communities from COVID-19, which has a starkly disproportionate impact on Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities, and investing in economic recovery. The president has set a clear goal to boost vaccine distribution, in part by working with cities and states to improve distribution efficiency. He has used executive power to extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium and extend the pause on student loan payments, protecting millions of Americans whose livelihoods have been threatened by the COVID-19 crisis. In a year marked by a long-overdue awakening to racial injustice sparked by the death of George Floyd and so many other people of color killed at the hands of police, Biden spent his first days in office beginning the implementation of an “ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda” to advance racial and social justice for all – including historically underserved communities, such as people of color, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ people, and those living in poverty. We welcome this focus and the reversal of hundreds of discriminatory Trump-era civil rights rollbacks and attacks. Further, extensive and bold work from the White House and Congress on criminal justice reform, LGBTQ and educational equity, immigration, voting rights, confronting white supremacy and extremism, workplace discrimination and food insecurity is necessary to create a nation that is more just and equitable for all. After witnessing four years of hateful anti-immigrant policies and the cruel, inhumane treatment of people in ICE detention centers, people across the country have demanded a just, fair and welcoming immigration system. Yesterday, Biden unveiled the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, a comprehensive legislative package on immigration that outlines a path to citizenship for millions of immigrant families, among other essential and overdue proposals. In addition, Biden has announced a series of immigration-related executive orders, including protecting DACA recipients, revoking the Muslim and African bans, stopping border wall construction and revoking the executive order that directed harsh and extreme immigration enforcement. The scope of the injustices levied against Black, Brown and Indigenous immigrants over the years demands a complete reimagination of our immigration system, and the legislation and executive orders announced today are first steps in the right direction. However, Congress must act quickly to enact legislation that will provide real relief. Immigrants have waited for far too long for fair and equal treatment under our laws. Our immigrant families, neighbors, friends, and co-workers are valued members of our communities, and it’s past time we treat them as such. Now is the time to build the kind of world we want – a world where all of us can thrive. But, we must be bold and courageous to build the just future we envision. As we stride forward into this new chapter, let the words of Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman guide us: For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. Thank you, The Southern Poverty Law Center
|
|||
| |
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
