A Year of Inhumanity #RestoreAsylumNow

Last week we called on you to join us in speaking out against the inhumane Remain in Mexico policy and demand Congress #RestoreAsylumNow. We asked you to call your representative to co-sponsor Rep. Escobar’s bill to Defund and End MPP and you stepped up. 

This week is no different. Inspired by all your work, Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) is circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter calling for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately terminate MPP. So far, he has 107 co-signers but we need you to call your member of Congress and help triple that number.

Call:

Let’s make their phones ring off the hook: Find your representative here >>>

• Sample Script: “My name is ____ and I am a constituent from ____. I urge Representative___ to sign onto a dear colleague letter in support of ending the harmful Remain in Mexico policy. The policy is unlawful and inhumane. 60,000 individuals, families, and children are now suffering, waiting in Mexico without protection. Please contact Isamar Garcia in Rep. Castro’s office to add [YOUR REP’S NAME] to the letter. The letter closes this Friday February 7th. Thank you!”

Think your representative has already signed on?

• Here is the full list of Co-Signers as of Feb 6th: Schakowsky, DeLauro, Napolitano, Ocasio-Cortez, Watson Coleman, Haaland, Bonamici, Blumenauer, DeFazio, McGovern, Vargas, Espaillat, Gallego, Vela, Grijalva. S. Garcia, Raskin, Panetta, C. Garcia, Chu, Soto, Sanchez, Escobar, Lowenthal, Cardenas, Sires, Mucarsel-Powell, Jayapal, V. Gonzalez, Barragan, B. Lee, Lujan, Cisneros, Serrano, Gomez, Pressley, B. Rush, N. Velazquez, Brown,  Khanna, Torres, Pallone Jr., Wasserman Schultz, Moore, Engel, Nadler, Correa, Lofgren, Payne Jr., Norton, Kildee, Bass, Shalala, Speier, Horsford, Welch, Huffman, Davis, Carson, Brownley, Omar, Hastings, Foster, Cleaver II., Hayes, McCollum, A. Smith, Heck, Aguilar, Meng, Johnson Jr., Maloney, Pocan, Krishnamoorthi, Quigley, Allred, Pingree, Eshoo, DeSaulnier, Deutch, Cicilline, Price, Trahan, Stanton, Roybal-Allard, Kaptur, Takano, Bustos, Rice, Lawrence, Swalwell,  Beyer Jr., Jeffries, Larsen, Boyle, Titus,  Kirkpatrick, Blunt Rochester, Thompson, Kilmer, Lewis, Green, Trone, Keating, Garamendi, Neguse, Doggett

We can’t let this momentum dwindle. Now is the time for action. 

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One year. And 60,000 families, men, women, and children have been forced to wait in danger in Mexico during their asylum proceedings due to the sham Remain in Mexico (MPP) policy. One year of asylum seekers huddled in makeshift tents in freezing temperatures, of children losing their innocence witnessing and enduring human rights abuses, and families being torn apart. A year of inhumanity thanks to the #MigrantPersecutionProtocols. January 29th marks one year since the policy started being implemented, and one year is too long.

Thanks to your calls, some members of Congress traveled to the border to see firsthand the daily suffering that asylum seekers are experiencing. They witnessed the dirty water and feces lined streets asylum seekers are barely surviving in. The sham virtual courtrooms in tents where life-altering decisions are being made from thousands of miles away. Immense suffering—yet the policy still stands. And as long as it keeps being implemented, things will only get worse. More asylum seekers will face violence in Mexico, more will die from a lack of medical care, and more will lose any hope they have of a safe haven.

The administration has also been busy ramping up the deportations of families and individuals to unsafe countries under the  “Asylum Cooperation Agreements” signed with Central American countries. The White House does not care about the life threatening dangers from which families, men, women, and children are fleeing.

We need to act. In November, we asked you to call Congress and demand they Defund and End Remain in Mexico. And you followed through. But our work is not over. Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) has introduced legislation to Defund Remain in Mexico. 48 representatives have already supported the bill but we need your help to get more co-sponsors.

Join us this Wednesday, January 29th, on the one year anniversary of this policy to #RestoreAsylumNow and #EndMPP  

Here’s what you can do to get involved:

Let’s get that phone ringing: 

• Call your representative and get them to co-sponsor Rep. Escobar’s bill to Defund MPP. Find them here >>>
  • ​Sample Script: “My name is ____ and I am a constituent from ____. I urge Representative___ to co-sponsor Representative Escobar’s H.R.2662 bill. It would put an end to the harmful Remain in Mexico policy that endangers lives . The policy goes against American values which we should aspire to uphold. I am alarmed that we are sending vulnerable people to dangerous Mexican cities when they are already fleeing danger in their home countries. They should be able to wait in safety during their asylum proceedings. My community welcomes and values immigrants, and as someone who represents my community, I urge you to do the same. 
• Call your senators. Find them here >>>
  • ​Sample Script: My name is __ and I am a constituent from ___ I urge the Senator to sign on as a cosponsor to Senator Blumenthal’s resolution for the third anniversary of the refugee and Muslim ban, asking Congress to defund the harmful Migrant Protection Protocols, and calling for the enactment of the NO BAN Act. We should not shut the door on vulnerable populations with a keep them out mentality. My community welcomes and values immigrants and are still feeling the impacts of our own community members families being torn apart. I urge you to value refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants the way our community does.

Let’s get trending: 

• Twitter: Use hashtags like #RestoreAsylumNow and #EndMPP
• Join our twitter storm on Wednesday January 29th at 11am EST
  • Retweet our updated infographic on the One Year Later impacts of Remain in Mexico
  • A year has been too long. Hold @DHSgovt accountable for sending #refugees to #HarminMexico. Join us in calling Congress to #SaveAsylumNow
• Tweet at the presidential candidates asking how they’ll #RestoreAsylumNow, here’s a sample tweet you can direct to any of the candidates:
  • ​.@HANDLE It’s been 1 yr since #RemainInMexico #MPP started. We are still sending families and children to wait in danger in #Mexico for months for their immigration hearings. This is cruel. Can you commit to repealing this policy on your first day in office?

Let’s raise our voices: 

• Go to town halls in your district and ask members of Congress to #RestoreAsylumNow and #EndMPP Find them here >>>

Join us. We will raise your voices and demand the administration ends their harmful immigration policies. Your action is vital.

 

For more information on this harmful policy see our “All About Remain in Mexico” page and infographic on the impacts One Year Later.