By Felicia J. Persaud
News Americas, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, Fri. Nov. 12, 2021: Global rights organization, Human Rights Watch, is among those calling out the Biden administration over its hypocrisy on immigration.
This as the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas, acknowledged the “substantial and unjustifiable human costs” to migrants subjected to former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program in a memo issued on Oct. 29th that terminated the program.
Great right? Well yes and no. The issue HRW and many advocates have with the administration is that while it has rightfully ended the Trump “Remain in Mexico” policy, it is still continuing the Trump Title 42 policy. Which essentially results in the same consequences.
Mayorkas wrote that MPP meant “individuals were subject to extreme violence and insecurity at the hands of transnational criminal organizations that profited from putting migrants in harms’ way.”
But as HRW pointed out, Title 42 is essentially doing the same thing.
The duplicity is obvious with this administration. On the one hand they want to appear as if they are doing something for immigrants but on the other hand, they are really chocking the life out of many with these Trump left over policies that they continue to hold on to.
So much for Biden and his immigration czar Kamala Harris cleaning house. Where is Harris anyway? Anyone seen her recently?
She should be on Capitol Hill pushing the immigration agenda that they ran on to ensure the promises made to immigrants make its way into the spending bill. This as many immigrants born and progressive Democrats are having a hard time reconciling with the social spending packagethat will be up next for a vote.
Instead, Harris is silent and its up to the many immigrant-born congressmembers and those with immigrant roots, to push on with the fight for immigration reform and inclusion of immigrants.
Reps. Luis J. Correa (D-Calif.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) are among those at the forefront of this fight, pressuring Democratic leaders to include reforms of immigration policies.
Caribbean-born Rep. Espaillat has said he and his colleagues are in discussion with moderate Democrats to hear them out on their electoral concerns, but also to convince them that changing the registry date, or granting undocumented immigrants work permits instead, would benefit the economy.
But will they listen? So far, the Biden administration has embraced the Trump Title 42 policy, wholeheartedly it seems, using it more times in its first six months than the Trump administration did in 11, HRW says.
This has resulted in over 800,000 of the 1,277,858 total expulsions under Title 42. Thousands have been returned to Haiti; a country now being run by gangs instead of the government.
Democrats will be wise to look at the loss on November 2nd as a warning if they continue to ignore their large base of immigrant voters that helped them win back power in 2020 in all branches of government. If Republicans win back control of the House or Senate next year, they will have no one to blame but themselves, as once again, they scapegoat their immigrant base and dole out the bile of hypocrisy.
The writer is publisher of NewsAmericasNow
