(Washington)--The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is heartbroken at the news that Donald Trump will once again be our country’s president. As we regroup and chart a new path forward alongside the communities that will be under attack we stand firm in our resistance. We have worked with our partners and communities to prepare for this moment and together we will continue fighting Trump’s hateful policies. We will not stop now.
“The ILRC has been advocating with policymakers to protect and codify policies beneficial to immigrant communities,” said ILRC Policy Director Sameera Hafiz. “And we urge the Biden administration to take immediate and defensive actions now to protect immigrant communities.”
The Biden administration must:
- Expedite processing for pending applications for employment authorization, deferred action, parole, DACA, TPS and other time-limited benefits;
- Expand and extend TPS protections;
- Begin a civil rights investigation in to Texas’s racist and unconstitutional Operation Lone Star and other state actions designed to racially profile and harm immigrant communities;
- Take steps to protect DACA recipients and others vulnerable groups from enforcement by the incoming administration;
- Rescind Trump-era regulations still on the books and restore asylum protections;
- Finalize the temporary final rule extending employment authorization document validity;
- Protect the right of eligible immigrants to go naturalize;
- Continue to decrease the backlog of naturalization applications; and
- Immediately shut down immigration detention centers operated by private prison companies and halt all efforts to expand immigration detention.
“Immigration advocates are much better prepared to take on another Trump administration,” Hafiz said. “We are united in our efforts to combat what will no doubt be an onslaught of hateful and racist policies and laws toward immigrants.”
For more information on policy solutions President Biden must urgently consider see the ILRC’s recommendations in Critical Action Needed as well as the Immigrant Justice Network’s Platform for Immigrant Justice.
For information on how immigrant communities can prepare for the next Trump presidency please go to our Community Resources page.
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The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC works to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities. Follow us at www.ilrc.org, and on Twitter and Instagram @the_ILRC