Drug Policy Alliance

Friend,

Drugs have been used to stigmatize immigrants and prevent immigration into the United States for nearly 120 years.

Irrational and racist logic rooted in the drug war falsely associates Latinx and Black immigrants with drug use and drug activity. This has fueled mass detention and deportation and severe punishment of immigrants.

Visit our site and register to join our webinar next Wednesday, September 29, to learn more about how the drug impacts immigrant communities.

Drug use or activity is often the reason for removing immigrants or denying them access to services, particularly Latinx and Black non-citizens. A conviction for a drug offense can cause extremely serious consequences including mandatory detention, deportation, and ineligibility for citizenship, lawful status or asylum.

These policies cruelly tear families apart, sow fear and anxiety in neighborhoods, and often send people back to countries where they have no support.

As a result, the U.S. has created the largest immigrant exclusion, detention, and deportation structure in the world. Did you know?

In fiscal year 2019, ICE made over 67,000 arrests for non-traffic drug offenses.
After illegal entry, drug offenses were the most common offense among people who were deported in 2019.
Nationwide, 97% of people accept plea deals. Many non-citizens do so without understanding that the plea deal can result in detention or deportation.

Twisted drug war logic has led us to surveilling immigrants, turning anything related to drugs into a severe crime, deporting people in record numbers, and enacting harsher punishments on non-citizens.

To truly end the drug war, we must uproot it from the immigration system so that drugs are no longer used as a weapon to punish people.

Please join our important conversation about this next Wednesday. And if you know someone who cares about this issue, please share this email with them.

Sincerely,

Kassandra Frederique
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance