In response to the executive orders on immigration signed by President Donald Trump on inauguration day, Nicholas Turner, president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice and president of Vera Action, released the following statement:

“Whether we were born in this country or came here in search of a better life, we all want safety, security, and stability. The current immigration system has long failed at ensuring a fair and humane process for people to build long-term stability, whether they are arriving seeking safety or have been part of our communities for decades.

“President Trump's immigration executive orders are cruel, extreme, and legally suspect. Increasing immigration detention, firing senior immigration court officials, upending due process, threatening sanctuary jurisdictions, reinstating counterproductive border policies that have worsened suffering, and decimating pathways to lawful settlement are just some of the measures that are a part of this destructive agenda. Rather than addressing the failures of the current immigration system, they will only sow chaos and dysfunction, waste resources, and cause irreparable harm.

“Studies make clear the devastating, far-reaching effects these policies will have not just on families and communities, but on our economy and country as a whole. Children returning home from school will discover their parents have been disappeared in raids; storefronts will go dark as immigrant-led businesses will close; the lives of longstanding community members will be upended; and employers in industries essential to our health, safety, and livelihoods will struggle as their workforce is decimated.

“We must defend due process and humanity in our immigration system with sensible, evidence-based policies that support national prosperity, community stability, fairness, and family unity. Officials at all levels of government can and must take bold action. At the state and local level, leaders should invest resources into immigration legal defense.

“Currently, millions of people facing deportation who cannot afford a lawyer are forced to defend themselves against the federal government alone because there is no right to an appointed lawyer in immigration court. For people in immigration detention, where it is nearly impossible to understand the immigration legal system without counsel, the risks are even more severe.

“At the Vera Institute of Justice, our resolve has never been stronger to advance humane and proven solutions to support immigrants and a functional immigration system. Our Safety & Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network was founded in 2017 during the start of the first Trump administration to establish immigration legal defense programs at the state and local levels and is currently operating in 31 jurisdictions across the country. With our partners, we are ready to defend and advocate for due process, family unity, and community stability.”

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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.

Vera Action is an independent 501(c)(4) organization and the advocacy partner of the Vera Institute of Justice. At Vera Action, we harness the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.