In a quickly-organized phone conference on the morning of the 12th, leaders from several immigrant and civil rights organizations came together to decry President Trump’s recent remarks, in which he referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries” during a meeting with senators, according to the Washington Post. The civil rights leaders said that, in light of these remarks, it is even more important for Congress to pass the Dream Act—which would provide a path to citizenship for thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children—before the January 19th federal government funding deadline.
“All of us wish that we did not have to have today’s discussion,” said Vanita Gupta, President of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, “But let me begin by condemning, in the strongest terms, the president’s words.”
“These comments fall perfectly in line with Trump’s disregard and disrespect for people of the African Diaspora,” agreed Jonathan Jayes-Green, co-founder and director of Undocublack Network, an advocacy organization for undocumented immigrants of African descent. The other organizers on the call agreed—these remarks were in line with the intent behind many of Trump’s previous remarks, and his actions, such as threatening to terminate the DACA program and removing TPS protections from immigrants from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and now El Salvador.
The current status of many immigration programs, such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is up in the air as of now. Over 600,000 immigrants were protected by DACA as of September 2017, though it is unclear what that number is now.
Additionally, the Trump administration has announced that they will be removing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for people from El Salvador, which until now have allowed those who have come to the United States from El Salvador without documentation to avoid deportation, on the grounds that it could be unsafe for them to return to their home country.
The organizers said that in response to these remarks, Congress has a moral obligation to do something to protect immigrants from what Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the advancement project, called “A racial purge that this president is calling for.” She added that “His policies on TPS and DACA would remove over a million people from this country, mostly people of color…those are his targets. So, the question to Congress is: whose side are you on?”
Dianis quoted Maya Angelou: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.” She said that in making these racist remarks, Donald Trump shows us who he is, “So it’s no surprise.” She noted that as the nation approaches the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Donald Trump’s comments are “insulting” to Dr. King’s legacy.
Clarissa Martínez-de-Castro of UnidosUS, the largest Latino advocacy group in the US, said that Congress must pass the Dream Act before the government shutdown date of January 19th, or be complicit in Trump’s blatantly racist policies. “There is no gray area here,” she said. A failure to pass the Dream Act would mean “Continuing to be complicit in the maligning of Latino and black communities regardless of immigration status, and there is no amount of hand-wringing or excuses that can cover that up.”
