FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2023
Contact: Zameena Mejia | zmejia@vera.org

New York – As a bipartisan group of U.S. senators continue negotiations on President Biden’s supplemental funding request, the Vera Institute of Justice joins a broad coalition urging lawmakers to safeguard critical asylum protections and reject proposals to expand expedited removals nationwide. New reporting states that the White House’s negotiations include a transit ban keeping people at the border from accessing asylum, a heightened standard for asylum seekers that would limit eligibility, and an expanded expedited removal policy that would extend the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to fast-track deportations of immigrants nationwide, depriving them of due process and access to our court system to defend their rights.

Annie Chen, director of Vera Institute of Justice’s Advancing Universal Representation initiative, shared the following statement:

“It is cruel and immoral for our elected officials to consider policies that would uproot and destabilize the lives of millions of immigrants and their families. The U.S. needs a fair asylum process that enables people to seek safety with dignity and ensures due process for all. Our immigration system is outdated, but the reported White House’s negotiations are recycling failed policies from the Trump administration’s playbook that would severely harm immigrants and our communities nationwide. It's bad enough to navigate a court process without a lawyer, but preventing someone from accessing the court process at all through the national expansion of expedited removal is an additional extreme step that further undermines fairness and jeopardizes family unity. We are calling on President Biden to reject these extreme measures and urge Congress to pass policies that would strengthen our immigration system, including ensuring access to a streamlined asylum process for people seeking safety and guaranteeing due process and access to counsel for anyone facing deportation.”

###

About the Vera Institute of Justice
The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.