The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project and the Kino Border Initiative celebrate yesterday’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in the United States Senate without any dangerous and harmful anti-immigrant amendments attached. The Florence Project and Kino Border Initiative joined other advocates and community groups in calling on Senators to commit to voting NO on all poison pill amendments, and we thank Congressional champions and allies who did just that.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a historic investment in battling climate change and expanding access to healthcare. These are important issues which disproportionately impact immigrant communities, and this legislation was not the appropriate avenue for any anti-immigrant provisions, including the codification and indefinite extension of Title 42.
“This weekend’s news is a tremendous relief,” says Chelsea Sachau, Managing Attorney of the Florence Project’s Border Action Team. “Every single day, policies such as Title 42 and Remain in Mexico put real families and people who are already fleeing persecution and violence in even greater danger as they are denied access to the U.S. asylum process. Codifying and indefinitely extending these deadly policies would cause grave and irreparable harm to people seeking safety in the United States. We thank members of the United States Senate for voting down these poison pill amendments.”
“On behalf of our organizations, but most of all, the forcibly displaced people we accompany who lack access to much-needed asylum due to Title 42, we thank members of the U.S. Senate for having closed ranks and voted humanely, rejecting these anti-immigrant amendments.” said Pedro De Velasco, Director of Education and Advocacy for the Kino Border Initiative. “I echo Victor, a father of two from Guerrero, who has been stranded at the border for over a year, who once said this about Title 42; ‘A few more months may not seem like a long time, but they are too much when life is at stake. I can be dead in two months.’ And although we celebrate this victory for migrants like Victor, we also recognize the urgency to continue working to see the immediate end of cruel and inhumane policies, such as Remain in Mexico and Title 42, and for the full restoration of asylum protections for all.”
The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 devoid of any anti-immigrant poison pill amendments, including provisions to codify Title 42, is the result of months of advocacy from organizations and community members across the country. However, there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to ensure that all people seeking protection in the United States are welcomed with dignity. We will continue to advocate fiercely for the swift end to Remain in Mexico and Title 42, for a just and humane immigration system, and to ensure that all who seek safety in the United States are welcomed with compassion and dignity.
