Immigrant lives are not bargaining chips

For Immediate Release: 
Saturday, January 19, 2019

Washington, DC — In response to Trump’s proposal to exchange massive increases in border wall funding for temporary protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, Mary Small, Policy Director of Detention Watch Network:

“Trump is responsible for cruelly rescinding DACA and TPS, critical protections for immigrants, and is now attempting to appease his white nationalist base by using the very people that he has endangered as bargaining chips. Today’s proposal to exchange temporary DACA/TPS protections for his hateful border wall is an extortion tactic, not a compromise. We will not fall for the Trump trap to divide us — Congress must reject any proposal that includes funding for his wall, detention beds and increased ICE and CBP agents, while fighting for permanent protections for DACA and TPS recipients.”

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Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition of organizations and individuals working to expose and challenge the injustices of the United States’ immigration detention and deportation system and advocate for profound change that promotes the rights and dignity of all persons. Founded in 1997 by immigrant rights groups, DWN brings together advocates to unify strategy and build partnerships on a local and national level to end immigration detention. Visit www.detentionwatchnetwork.org.