Bringing attention to the Uyghurs during the 2022 Winter Olympics
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B Stands for Beijing 

Good afternoon, 

The 2022 Winter Olympics are getting started in Beijing. The games bring
together some of the best athletes in the world to compete. However,
this year's games, in addition to facing COVID-19 restrictions, are
entangled in significant controversy over China's human rights
abuses.  

The international community has long been concerned about China's
treatment of the Uyghurs
, a mostly Muslim
ethnic group mainly in the western Xinjiang province. Millions of
Uyghurs have been imprisoned for years in Chinese 're-education camps
,'
facing forced labor, abuse and torture. Women
have also been
subjected to systematic sexual abuse and forced sterilizations. U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has declared

the actions as genocide and crimes against humanity.  

Uyghurs hoping to escape to other countries do not have a clear path to
resettlement. China has pressured neighboring countries to return
Uyghurs who have illegally left the country. Uyghurs also have a
difficult time reaching the U.S., which, disappointingly, resettled zero
Uyghur refugees
during the 2021 fiscal year. Approximately 800 Uyghurs already in the
United States are awaiting an asylum decision and are caught in a case
backlog

with a wait time of approximately four and half years.  

With the prominence of the Olympics and the leadup to the Games, more
people have become aware of the situation facing the Uyghur people.
Several countries, including the United States, are diplomatically
boycotting

the games and sending no government officials to Beijing. The U.S.,
U.K., Canada and European Union have also imposed sanctions
on high-ranking Chinese
officials. 

The Biden administration has declared the Uyghurs as a priority group
for refugee resettlement in 2022. Resettlement agencies, however, are
still recovering from the previous years' COVID-19 challenges and
record low admission numbers. In Congress, the House of Representatives
will soon vote on the America COMPETES Act. One provision in this
legislation

would give Uyghurs who have fled China direct access to the refugee
resettlement program. Additionally, Hong Kongers who are currently in
the U.S. would receive Temporary Protected Status

(TPS). 

There is much work to be done to improve the situation of Uyghurs both
inside and outside of China. Given the complex geopolitics at play in
the region, there is no single solution to stop China's abuses.
Immigration solutions are but one important part of the puzzle. I hope
you'll continue to join the National Immigration Forum in pushing for
immigration policies that benefit us all. 

Stay healthy and hopeful, 

Nora 

P.S. In case you missed it, the Forum recently teamed up with Refugee
Council USA for a Facebook Live to discuss the
Biden Administration's work regarding immigration this past year.
Click here
to
watch the recording. 

Nora Coyne 
Senior Field and Constituencies Associate  
National Immigration Forum  

NEWS CLIPS TO NOTE:  

CHRISTIANITY TODAY: Gov. DeSantis, Let My Ministry Serve Migrant Kids
 

NBC NEWS: White House supports permanent legal status for families
separated at border
 

ASSOCIATED PRESS: US expels Venezuelan migrants to Colombia under COVID
powers
 

CBS NEWS: 36,000 Afghan evacuees lack pathway to permanent legal status
in the U.S.
 

AXIOS: Black immigrant population surges in U.S.
 

 

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