Action Alert: Tell Congress to Stop Anti-Asylum and Anti-Immigrant Negotiations in Congress and Biden Administration

The United States asylum system is under attack. For too long, we have watched the erosion of a staple component of our immigration system. Since the former administration, there has been an intentional and debilitating movement to strike down access for asylum seekers to the U.S. This has caused devastating effects among both people and processes.

Currently, the U.S. Congress and the White House are entertaining further restrictions to the asylum process with the potential to have damaging and life-altering effects on those seeking asylum. We, the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, reject any proposals that would include the following:

• Asylum restrictions with devastating impacts that have been well documented, including subjecting thousands of people, including children and families, to violent attacks such as kidnapping, torture, rape, and extortion.
• Nationwide expedited removal which threatens the unity and well-being of tens of thousands of immigrant families who have long been integrated into our communities–including U.S. citizen children in mixed-status families–by separating them, creating a climate of fear, and rapidly deporting immigrants without a chance to present their claims in immigration court.
• Family detention which can lead to serious and lasting harm to children – many of whom have the legal right to remain in the U.S. because they have arrived as part of a family fleeing persecution. ICE’s Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers has stated definitively that “detention or the separation of families for purposes of immigration enforcement or management are never in the best interest of children.”
• The Title 42 policy which expelled millions of asylum seekers into harm’s way, including more than 30,000 children 3 years old and younger.

As United Methodists, we say no to anti-asylum and anti-immigrant policies. We believe and affirm the dignity and value of all persons, regardless of immigration status or country of origin. (2016 Book of Resolutions, #3281) And, we oppose immigration policies that separate family members from each other or that include detention of families with children. (2016 Book of Discipline, Social Principles ¶162)

Use the form below to contact your elected officials in Congress today and tell them NO to any negotiations that would further jeopardize and harm those seeking asylum. Share with them that a strong and robust asylum system is the duty of our nation and ensures that the United States is seen as a beacon of hope for the downtrodden and those seeking a life of peace.

Together, we can stop the further erosion of a vital part of our society and larger immigration system.