Janet Murguía: A Call to Action to Defend Our Families!

Though our membership with UnidosUS, Canal Alliance is able to influence policy at the federal level. Below please find a recent call to action from UnidosUS president and CEO, Janet Murguía. Help us defend immigrants and their families today by calling the White House and your representatives. Instruction below!

We’re calling on you to defend immigrants and their families!

Congressional Republicans are demanding harsh immigration policies in exchange for their support of foreign aid to Ukraine. Recent reports (see here and here) suggest President Biden may agree to a draconian deal with lawmakers that would:

• Expand  “expedited removal” nationwide, risking mass detention and deportation of the undocumented with deep roots in the United States.
• Gut parole authority used for pathways for humanitarian migrants and immigration relief for undocumented individuals in the country.
• Allow the administration to detain migrants—including families and children—until their asylum cases are adjudicated, risking mass mandatory detention.
• Raise the standard for “credible fear” asylum interviews that could send refugees back to danger in their home countries.
• Implement a near “transit ban” by denying access to asylum to those who traveled through a third country (namely Mexico) on their way to our southern border.
• Reinstate a worse version of Title 42 by allowing the President to declare a national emergency and bar the entry of foreign nationals into the U.S.

These are unprecedented threats to refugees and our loved ones and communities.

Call the President and Congress to tell them that that endangering the safety of U.S. families and immigrant communities for a one-time funding investment in Ukraine is an unacceptable deal.

Time is of the essence: the President hopes Congress will act on a deal before the holidays.

• Call the White House at (202) 456-1111 to voice your opposition to this proposal. (For communication tips, see this page.)

• Call your U.S. Senator and Representative! Find their office phone numbers on their websites or contact them through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If you’re unsure of your representatives, search for your Senator by state on this page and for your U.S Representative by zip code on this page.

What to say when you call: “I strongly oppose any spending deal that:

• Trades foreign aid to Ukraine for harmful immigration policies that hurt asylum seekers, children, mixed-status families, and the long-term undocumented.
• Goes against our values and international obligations by closing our doors to refugees.
• Results in mandatory detention or sends refugees back to danger and death in their home countries.
• Creates a nationwide dragnet that deports the undocumented with deep social and economic roots in the U.S. and tears families apart.”