Senate Must Protect Dreamers Without Denying Asylum-Seeking Refugees Protection

NEW YORK – With reports today in the Washington Post stating “that Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have reached an agreement on a draft framework for immigration reform,” Human Rights First urged Senators to protect Dreamers and other immigrants and firmly reject any deal that would premise such protection on stripping refugees seeking asylum of their right to protection.

“Human Rights First applauds any federal legislative action to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and additional resources to address the crippling asylum backlog gripping our nation’s immigration adjudication system,” said Robyn Barnard, Associate Director for Refugee Advocacy at Human Rights First.  “At the same time, we know that human rights are sacred. Senators should never engage in trading one immigrant group’s rights and protections for those of another. There are others in urgent need of action by Congress, including TPS holders, farm workers, and others with long-standing roots in this country. The American public overwhelmingly supports protecting these individuals. Our leaders should do so while holding true to our values and respecting the human rights of refugees embedded in U.S. law and our international treaty obligations. That means ending – not extending – the use of Title 42, as recently mandated by federal courts, and rejecting any other legislative proposals that would undermine our asylum system.”