Last night, President Biden made a five-word commitment to families of mixed citizenship statuses, “I will not separate families.” Immediately afterward, he said, “I will not ban people from America because of their faith.”
Late last year, Suma Setty and I published a book called “Broken Hope: Deportation and the Road Home,” an 187-page presentation of the lives, hopes, and dreams of people who once made the U.S. their home (download for free). OHIA Organizer Maryam Sy interviewed 255 people torn from their loved ones, after building good lives in the United States. They told us they want to be SEEN and HEARD in the U.S. immigration debate.
The group includes people from more than 20 states, born in 27 countries, primarily in Africa. Most are Muslim. They lived in the U.S. for a median of 17 years and speak more than 22 languages. The vast majority are bilingual; some speak four or more languages! They have U.S. citizen spouses, partners, children, other family members, colleagues, and friends who miss them and want them to come home.
President Biden’s words are personal to them, and us. American Families United, a national group of people fighting to live in their own country with their spouses, is urging everyone to sign this letter to the President. AFU leaders and members are speaking on a press call organized by the American Business Immigration Coalition today at 11am ET. Tune in live via ABIC’s Facebook page or register to get the Zoom link.
There are many immigration policies the Biden administration and Congress have failed to address, while focusing on the southern U.S. border. President Biden must put action behind his words today. No family should be separated and no one should be banned because a president doesn’t understand the beauty of their faith.