For Immediate Release: May 16, 2019
Contact: Marie McIntosh, media@ilrc.org
Trump’s Speech is a Smokescreen for Cruel Immigration Policy, Says ILRC
Today, President Trump delivered a speech on what he announced was a new immigration plan, though no plan was released and the plan has no viable pathway forward. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center responded to this specious plan by urging the media and the public to remain focused in the face of Trump’s planned distractions on the policies his administration currently has in place - the massive policing and deportation of immigrant communities and families.
Said Sameera Hafiz, policy director at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center:
“Again, Trump is touting his plans to undermine our family immigration system – following the fourth tragic death of a child in border patrol custody and revelations that the president planned for mass family arrests. Trump is calculating that if “merit-based” is repeated enough times on national television, Americans will forget that families belong reunited and together. Family reunification is one of the cornerstones of our immigration system. Trump’s proposal to use our immigration system to promote a racist vision of the future for the United States has no place in the vision for what our country wants to be.”
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The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC’s mission is to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities.