Amnesty promises to fight Trump's efforts to close US borders

President Donald Trump today issued several executive orders related to immigration, including constructing a wall on the border with Mexico, building more detention centers, and stripping sanctuary cities of federal funding.

Responding to the announcements, Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said:

“We will fight this dangerous move with everything we’ve got, This wall would say that those from outside the United States, especially from Latin America, are to be feared and shunned – and that is just wrong.

“Our members and supporters will demand that Congress protect people seeking asylum, including those fleeing violence in Latin America. We won’t let President Donald Trump create refugee camps along the U.S./Mexico border like the ones we’ve seen in Greece, Australia, and other countries.

“Sanctuary city policies help protect people’s human rights in part by ensuring that the proper authorities are empowered to do their job. Local law enforcement should be working with communities to protect their safety and not acting as immigration agents.”

Amnesty’s “I Welcome” campaign protects the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum by documenting human rights abuses and pressing governments to do their fair share to address this humanitarian crisis. In the US, Amnesty is working to protect refugee resettlement programs and access to asylum at the US southern border, in particular the harsh practice of automatically detaining children and their mothers who are seeking asylum and other practices that undermine meaningful access to protection.   

President Trump is also reportedly planning on signing executive orders regarding refugees, travel bans from Muslim-majority countries, and national security issues this week. Amnesty will continue to monitor these and will have experts available.