State of the Union 2022: Time for Biden to deliver

Toolkit

March 1, 2022
12 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. CT / 10 a.m. MT / 9 a.m. PT

Ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address today, Alianza Americas, together with its member organizations, and Presente.org, invite you to join our day of action to urge President Biden to use the State of the Union as an opportunity to shine a light on the immense harm that the criminalization and detention of migrants has on our communities. And with the outbreak of Russia’s reckless war on Ukraine fueling demands that the Biden administration protect Ukrainians in the U.S. from deportation through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) humanitarian program, this calls attention on the need for the U.S. government to swiftly use TPS as a tool for providing life-saving protections. Both Ukrainians and Central American nationals in the United States urgently need TPS so they can have work permits and protections from deportation.

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The stakes in 2022 are high, and in this election year, the pressure is on the Biden administration to deliver what communities deserve: policies that deliver on Biden’s commitment to build a fair and humane migration system, that tackle the perpetual health and other inequities faced by Latino and immigrant communities, and that meet the moment on climate change.

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Find sample messages below that you can use to share on your social networks — join us!  

Talking Points

• The stakes in 2022 are high, and in this election year, the pressure is on the Biden administration to deliver what communities deserve: policies that deliver on Biden’s commitment to build a fair and humane migration system, that tackle the perpetual health and other inequities faced by Latino and immigrant communities, and that meet the moment on climate change.
• And with the outbreak of Russia’s reckless war on Ukraine fueling demands that the Biden administration protect Ukrainians in the U.S. from deportation through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) humanitarian program, this calls attention on the need for the U.S. government to swiftly use TPS as a tool for providing life-saving protections. Both Ukrainians and Central American nationals in the United States urgently need TPS so they can have work permits and protections from deportation.

Migration

• The Biden administration and Congress has thus far failed in recognizing the humanity, dignity, and immense contributions that migrants make in our communities. The administration needs to adopt a pro-migrant agenda — that includes designating all eligible countries for the TPS humanitarian protection program, restoring asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, supporting Congress in passing a bill that delivers permanent protections for immigrant families, and abolishing the cruel and inhumane detention of migrants.
• The Biden administration should use the State of the Union as an opportunity to recognize the value and enormous contributions that TPS beneficiaries have brought to their communities. The White House should move urgently to grant TPS protections for Ukrainian and Central American families already living in the U.S., so that they no longer have to fear being deported back to countries where they are not safe. It’s past time to deliver migration policies that protect and uphold the freedom and dignity of migrant families.
• Some of the Trump administration’s most harmful immigration policies still remain in place. This includes “Remain in Mexico” (which sees asylum seekers forced to wait for their immigration court dates in Mexican border cities where they are not safe), and “Title 42” (a policy that virtually shuts down asylum at the border, and which health experts say has no grounding in protecting public health). The Biden administration needs to revoke these illegal policies immediately: every day that the White House continues to uphold Trump’s hateful legacy, asylum seekers are forced into situations of harm and suffering.
• As outlined in a report sponsored by 26 immigration rights groups, including Alianza Americas, there are several other immediate measures that the Biden administration can take to help establish a fair and humane immigration system. This includes redesignating TPS so that eligible Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Nicaraguans already living in the U.S. can continue to live and work here, with a greater degree of stability. Additionally, given the degree to which the record-breaking hurricanes Eta and Iota impacted Central America in 2020, the Biden administration should also create a new TPS designation for eligible Guatemalans living in the United States.
  • Beyond these short-term renewals, TPS recipients urgently need a permanent solution to their immigration status, so that they no longer have to live in daily uncertainty.  
  • This usage of executive power to renew TPS is especially needed given how attempts at immigration reform provisions have stalled in Congress. This places additional urgency on the executive branch to use its power to execute reforms wherever possible.  

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Detention

• Immigration detention increased at least 50 percent under Biden. Freedom is a fundamental human right: no one should be detained because of their immigration status. That’s why under the #FreedomForAll campaign, the 55 migrant organizations who form part of the Alianza Americas coalition are calling for an end to immigration detention.        
• Right now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set to spend some $1.8 billion on detention beds. To guarantee freedom for all, these funds should be re-invested into creating a universal legal representation program (such a program would only cost a fraction of what we’re currently spending on detention: an estimated $208 million. With a universal legal representation program, anyone who is facing deportation proceedings would be guaranteed an attorney. Everyone deserves a fair shot in court, regardless of immigration status.

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• From 2015 to 2018, ICE paid private prison companies $3 billion to hold immigrants in private facilities — even as there is widespread evidence of endemic abuse in privately-run immigration detention centers. Federal dollars shouldn’t go towards funding privately-run detention centers, when those funds could be better spent investing in health, education, and other social initiatives that uplift communities.
• In January 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to end U.S. government contracts with private prisons — however, this does not apply to privately-run immigrant detention centers. Biden should extend the order so that it does include immigrant detention centers.

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Health inequities and COVID-19

• Because of inequities when it comes to accessing adequate healthcare, people of Latino/Latinx descent are twice as likely as Whites to die from COVID-19, according to the CDC.  The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people of color has cut life expectancy for Black and Latinx people by up to three years. Reports have also pointed to how communities of color were more likely to feel the economic impact of the pandemic. These statistics point to how the structural racism baked into the U.S. public health system — limiting who is able to access adequate health services.
  • As local governments across the country move to lift COVID-19 restrictions as cases, hospitalizations, and deaths decline, the larger challenge facing the Biden administration is addressing the long-standing inequities that Latinos, migrants, and people of color face when it comes to healthcare access. We urgently need more just distribution of healthcare resources.

Climate change

• We need to take bold action to save our planet. Each day that passes without action on #ClimateChange deepens our addiction to fossil fuels, propping up corrupt and reckless dictators like Putin and fueling conflicts like the current shocking war in Ukraine.
• Biden can and needs to use his executive powers to declare the climate crisis a state of emergency. A state of emergency allows the Biden administration to reinstate the crude oil export ban and halt federal fossil fuel leasing on public lands. Scientists have warned us that we must set a global climate goal of limiting warming to under 1.5 degrees C. Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis and we need swift action.