ACLU Comment on Senate Supplemental Funding Negotiations

In response to reports that Senate Democrats have walked away from foreign aid negotiations that traded away our asylum system and other critical protections for people fleeing danger, Sarah Mehta, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union had the following reaction:

“We applaud the leadership of Sen. Majority Leader Schumer, Sens. Murphy and Bennet, and the Sen. Democratic Caucus who are standing up for vulnerable people seeking asylum and against extremist, xenophobic attacks on our asylum laws as part of a funding deal. Foreign aid should not be conditioned on the abandonment of our nation’s legal and moral commitments to families seeking protection in the United States.

“Congress needs to debate and pass meaningful immigration reform, which should include common sense and humane solutions that improve border management, rather than doubling down on harmful, extreme, and unnecessary detention and border provisions that hurt our communities. In the meantime, Congress should invest in providing funding and support to communities receiving migrants at the border and in cities throughout the U.S., improving screening processes and staffing at ports of entry, and expediting work authorization for asylum seekers.”