Veterans Speak Out Against Pres. Biden Order Endangering Asylum Seekers, Playing Into Conservative Fearmongering
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 04, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Jacob Thomas | jacob@commondefense.us
Veterans Speak Out Against Pres. Biden Order Endangering Asylum Seekers, Playing Into Conservative Fearmongering
WASHINGTON D.C. — As President Biden signs the most restrictive, anti-immigrant, and inhumane executive order of his presidency, veterans across the country are outraged that an administration that we helped elect in 2020 would abandon our nation’s values to help those fleeing violence and seeking asylum. When combined with the administration's failure to protect Afghan interpreters, and its complicity in the brutal war against Gazan civilians, President Biden may earn the shameful distinction of overseeing the most anti-refugee administration in modern history.
Beginning in 2022, Common Defense has consistently warned that President Biden’s immigration policy has been unduly influenced by fears of political backlash. This influence was a key factor in the administration’s failure to adequately resettle Afghan allies after the end of the U.S. occupation, as detailed in George Packer’s Atlantic article. The same fear-driven logic appears to be driving the current restrictive policies on refugees and asylum seekers, further undermining our national values and obligations.
Caving to the xenophobia of MAGA extremists only reinforces far-right narratives that aim to further divide our country.
Instead of embracing MAGA border policies, President Biden should be leading the transition to a just and equitable asylum process that centers our common humanity.
Everyone deserves safety and security. Today's decision to further wall off the U.S. fails our country’s promise as a safe haven and creates new dangers. Rising temperatures are the real border emergency, as a new heat dome hits the border region this week. And money spent on cruel and costly border enforcement benefits private security companies when it could be going to protecting Americans against climate risks.
Spending on extreme border enforcement increases the humanitarian emergency at the border and raises stress on border communities. Such actions drive people seeking safety in the U.S. to make even more dangerous and deadly journeys.
The Biden Administration is once again giving into false, cruel narratives on the border, which benefits only the profiteers diverting resources that Americans need toward costly weapons, walls and increased surveillance.
“As veterans, we have witnessed the horrors of war and the devastating impact it has on families. It is unconscionable that we would turn our backs on families fleeing violence and persecution. With this executive action, the Biden administration is betraying the core values our nation was built upon, such as compassion, justice, and the commitment to protect those in need.” – Jose Vasquez, Army veteran and Executive Director of Common Defense
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Common Defense is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.