While actions offer protections for some, it comes in exchange for increased border militarization and expedited family deportation

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Chicago, IL —  Alianza Americas welcomes the Biden-Harris administration’s announcements to expedite work permits and the re-designation of a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals from Venezuela who arrived in the U.S. no later than July 31, 2023. While these are steps in the right direction, we strongly criticize increased border militarization and expedited family deportation. It is clear that false toxic narratives perpetuated by white supremacist anti-immigrant groups about people who migrate continue to permeate U.S. immigration policies.

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There are extremely limited avenues for authorized migration for those who are forced to flee their countries of origin. The punitive logic against people who migrate are failed strategies that only put migrants in harm’s way and allow for organized crime to flourish, particularly the smuggling, trafficking, kidnapping and extortion of migrants. The U.S. must implement policies that address the root causes of migration and open new pathways that allow people to enter the country in an authorized and safe manner. Deterrence is a failed strategy when conditions in the countries of origin are not addressed.

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The increased efforts to rapidly deport families nationwide via the Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) program continues to disrupt and break strong familial, communal, and regional ties within migrant communities living in the United States. The FERM program also ignores the many factors that force thousands to flee their homes in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones. An increase in mass deportation and the externalization of border enforcement are coming into full-force as a result of an increase in the detention of migrants, removal flights, and coordination with countries like Mexico to receive nationals from other countries when they are removed from the U.S., despite the lack of publicly funded infrastructure in Mexico to receive and integrate them.

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The in-action from Congress is a matter of great concern and frustration. However, there is much the Biden-Harris administration can do to ensure migrants have access to legal pathways to enter into the U.S. safely by widening and not limiting asylum and expanding humanitarian parole programs, such as the program for Cubans, Haitains, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that was implemented earlier this year. There is also a need to develop federal capacity to lead and fund integration efforts at the federal level and to increase coordination between local actors and federal authorities to ensure those arriving are welcomed and met with dignity. Migrants are a net benefit and a social blessing to the U.S. and we must ensure that our immigration policies reflect this truth.

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Alianza Americas is the premier transnational advocacy network of Latin American migrant-led organizations working in the United States, across the Americas, and globally to create an inclusive, equitable and sustainable way of life for communities across North, Central and South America.