Cleveland, OH – Repealing the Trump Administration’s cruel deportation policies was part of the swirl of executive orders and policies issued by the Biden Administration last week. This was a positive move for families in the U.S. But families whose loved ones were already deported, whether under President Trump or President Obama, are wondering where they fit in.
In The New York Times, Jean Guerrero writes:
If Mr. Biden is serious about “securing our values as a nation of immigrants,” he can’t just reverse President Donald Trump’s decisions, or label deportations under President Barack Obama a “big mistake.” He must repair the harm that was done when he was vice president, which left communities fractured and financially devastated, as the public health researcher William D. Lopez observed in his book, “Separated.” He should extend some of the same relief sought for victims of Mr. Trump’s policy of family separation — such as mental health services and reunification — to those torn apart by Mr. Obama’s policies.
Guerrero is a respected journalist and the author of Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda. Her article was praised by Jorge Ramos, who called it “a new narrative on immigration,” as well as other thought-leaders such as León Krauze and Alfredo Corchado.
Her argument echoes that made by Maria Paz Perez, who called on the Democratic National Committee to include families like hers in the Party platform. She cited a Biden tweet that said “Children should be released from ICE detention with their parents immediately. This is pretty simple, and I can’t believe I have to say it: Families belong together.”
Perez replied: “I can’t believe it has to be said, either. My family belongs together, too.”
Said Lynn Tramonte, Director of Ohio Immigrant Alliance: “There are policy changes the Biden Administration can make to facilitate return after deportation, even without an act of Congress. Reuniting people with their homes and loved ones in the United States is vital healing for these families and this nation.”
For more, read this background memo and sign this petition.
Follow the Ohio Immigrant Alliance on Facebook and Twitter @tramontela
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