Washington, D.C. – In response to Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) horrific and abusive treatment of Haitian migrants seeking safety at the border, Greisa Martinez Rosas, Executive Director of United We Dream, released the following statement:
“From Border Patrol agents brandishing whips against Haitian people to at least four mass deportation flights to Haiti carried out today alone, the assaults happening right now against Black migrants under the Biden administration’s watch are an appalling reminder that a system rooted in white supremacy and anti-Black violence can never be made humane.
ICE and CBP will always be two sides of the same coin. Whether it’s at the border or in our own communities, deportation, physical trauma, and even death at the hands of immigration enforcement remain a constant threat for Black and brown immigrants. It’s time for the Biden administration to take action to protect all communities, including the millions of undocumented immigrants who need and deserve permanent protections from detention, deportation, and expulsion, now!
Today, thousands of people from across the country, including immigrant youth from United We Dream, marched in Washington, D.C. to send a clear message to the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress that we need more than words. We need real investments in our communities that center the fight for racial justice. Delivering an inclusive and expansive pathway to citizenship, defunding and abolishing ICE and CBP, and ending all deportations and expulsions are only the beginning of writing the historical wrongs of our country’s immigration system. President Biden and Democrats in Congress, the onus is on you to reject white supremacy on all fronts and to defend Black lives.”
