Letter to President Biden from Refugee and Asylee Leaders

January 19th, 2022

President Joseph R. Biden
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Biden,

As refugees, asylees, asylum seekers, and those who have experienced barriers to seeking asylum and other forms of humanitarian relief, we are writing to respectfully urge your administration to uphold the protections granted under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and welcome all people seeking safety at our borders and shores with dignity and humanity. We call for you to immediately stop expulsions under Title 42 and permanently end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). We write to you not only as people who have survived forceful displacement from our countries of origin but as those who know firsthand the importance of a humane protection system and policies that provide safety and welcome for those fleeing violence and persecution.

As the administration is aware, MPP, or the "Remain in Mexico" policy, conceived and implemented by the Trump administration, endangers the lives of vulnerable families and individuals seeking safety at our borders and shores. MPP forces people seeking asylum and other forms of humanitarian relief from our country to await their U.S. court dates on the Mexican side of the border, where they are subjected to dangerous conditions, including the threat of violence, kidnappings, and homelessness. Despite its name, the policy is not about protection. Instead, it turns our nation’s back on people seeking safety and abandons the United States’ obligations under domestic and international human rights laws.

Similar to MPP, your administration has continued to embrace Title 42, another harmful policy initiated by the Trump administration. Despite public health experts noting an absence of an empirical rationale for Title 42 expulsions, your administration has continued to block asylum at U.S. ports of entry and expel those seeking safety, exposing them to danger. We have seen too many people like us, who are fleeing violence, war, and persecution, being wrongfully expelled to the very countries they fled, without an opportunity to seek asylum as a result of Title 42 even though it is a guaranteed right under international law.

You ran a presidential campaign on the promise to restore welcoming policies and rebuild the humane protection systems that were dismantled during the Trump era. However, your administration has continued to uphold violent policies like MPP and Title 42. Since your inauguration, Human Rights First has documented more than 7,647 incidents of kidnappings, sexual assault, and other forms of violence against people in Mexico because of MPP. Since taking office, your administration has expelled more than 8,000 Haitians under Title 42, despite that country’s severe political and environmental crises. Policies such as MPP and Title 42 continue to uphold racist and discriminatory practices that harm people seeking safety.

There is no safe or humane way to carry out fundamentally inhumane policies such as the "Remain in Mexico" program and Title 42. When our protection systems prioritize humanity, we can see how they not only transform lives but transform the fabric of this nation in positive ways. This nation's long history of welcome has been a lifeline to us and to the many other refugees and asylees who now call America home. This welcome has provided us the chance to strengthen our communities and become a part of this nation as neighbors, friends, doctors, business owners, students, teachers, religious leaders, and community members.

MPP and Title 42 policies can never be made safe, and there is no honorable path that involves turning our backs on those seeking safety and asylum. This nation and your administration have a legal and moral obligation to allow those seeking refuge the right to claim asylum or other forms of humanitarian relief. We call on you to continue to embrace this nation's long tradition of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution and put a permanent end to MPP and Title 42. We ask you as our nation’s leader to honorably uphold our nation’s commitment to those seeking safety and protection under domestic and international laws.

Sincerely,

A. Moo
Abdifatah A.
Abdou Kattih
Adamou Mohamed
Ahmad A
Ali Aljubouri
Ali AlNuaimi
Ally Ntumba
Asraa Adrgy
Ayda Z
Ayudante general
B. Tenna
Banjor, M
Basma Alawee
Betel Dejene
Bilal Askaryar
Clara Hart
Dagemawit Kebede
Dauda Sesay
Dave Boer
David Ssesanga
Dilli Gautam
Dina Al Bayati
Dina Bostandzic
Egide I
Fartun Weli
Fatima
Fereshteh Ganjavi
Fernando Jimenez
Ferwerdin Al Barzanji
Frank waswa
Gail D Solo
Guerline Jozef
Hadidja Nyiransekuye
Hager Ahmad
Haider Ghany
Hamdi Khalid
Hanisa Adam
Hannah Moazed
Hans How
I. Mohyuddin
Isaac James
Isabel Kayembe
Ishani Ganguly
Jacqueline Kifuko
Jessie Li
Joseph Sackor
Juma
Karen Diaz
Kayo Beshir
Kenean Fisseha
Khamisa Abdalla
Klhee Bang
Liana Adrong
Lila Samady
Loveyda G BLISS
Lubab Al Quraishi
Mahdi A
Mahjabin G
Mari Kresge Alexander
Maria Amaro
Maria Cortez-Perez
Maria Mayorga
Marwah A
Mashengo Alimbuko
Melina Roche
Michal H
Milky Abadula
Mohamed Ibrahim
Moussa
Mustafa Nizam
Myra Dahgaypaw
Nafisa musa
Nardose Kebede
Nasteho Abdidahir
Nejra Sumic
Nermina Mujkanovic
Nga Vuong-Sandoval
Noel N.
Noor Ghazi
Paul Mwingwa
Paula Muñoz
Pierre Uwimana
Ramazan N.
Reginald Tarr
Robert Kamau
Rodrigue M
Sara Deewa
Sarah Slocum
Senka Filipovic
Shakila Mahmodi
Shamail Amiri
Sharon Njie
Taif Jany
Tolcha Mesele
Tomiko traphagan
Tshishiku Henry
Tsion Gurmu
Zani Eca
Zhoobin M

CC:

The Honorable Antony Blinken, Secretary of State

The Honorable Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services

The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security

Ron Klain, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff

The Honorable Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor

The Honorable Susan Rice, Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Ur Jaddou, Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services