For Immediate Release

October 26, 2018

Press Contact:

Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482

Marlene Peralta, marlene.peralta@progressivecities.com,

646-601-4267

Trump Escalates Cruel Attacks on People Seeking a Better Life

Trump’s potential Latinx ban and attack on asylum seekers and people seeking a better life is a racist political scheme

New York, NY – In response to breaking news that President Donald Trump is considering a ban on immigration from the Mexican border to the United States, in addition to his continued attack on asylum seekers and immigrants more broadly, immigration activists and leaders from the Center for Popular Democracy Action and Make the Road Action released the following statements:

Ana Maria Archila, Co-executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy Action said:

“The Trump administration wants to turn the courage and tenacity of people seeking a better life into a distraction from the atrocities his administration and the Republicans in Congress are committing. We cannot continue to let this administration weaponize people who are seeking refuge from violence and danger for Trump’s own political gain. America must be a place that takes responsibility for its past harms and allow every person to thrive.”

Javier H. Valdés, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road Action, said:

“The administration’s consideration of a Latinx ban is a disgraceful escalation in its attacks on our communities, who are already suffering the effects of ramped up raids, the separation of children from parents at the border and across the country, and the attempt to end DACA and TPS. But we will not allow these hateful election year tactics to distract us. We stand firm in insisting upon the rights of asylum-seekers to find refuge in this country. And we will continue mobilizing our communities to vote to rein in the abuses from Washington. Make the Road Action members alone will knock on more than 250,000 doors in Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. We know that our communities will be difference-makers in this election.”

Renata Pumarol, Deputy Director at New York Communities for Change, said:

"It is unconscionable that Trump is threatening to prevent asylum seekers- who are fleeing widespread violence- from  exercising their legal right to seek asylum in the United States. We stand for the rights of all asylums to seek refuge and safety.  We will not stand for a Latinx ban just like we did not stand for a Muslim ban," “As Trump spreads racist lies to stoke fear on citizens and influence the midterm elections, we will also mobilize our communities to the polls and send a strong message that we are here to stay.”

AdanJesus Marín, Pennsylvania State Director, Make the Road Action, said:

“Trump is doubling down his attack on the Latinx and immigrant community because he knows we have the electoral power to put a stop to his dangerous agenda this election. In Pennsylvania, we have knocked hundreds of thousands of doors to make sure the voices of our communities are heard.  Make no mistake. Our community won’t get discouraged. On the contrary, we will continue to fight back through mobilization of voters who are very energized to cast their right to vote in November.”

Rosa L. Huitzitzilin, Community Organizer, Make the Road Action in New Jersey, said:

"Members of Make the Road New Jersey condemn the latest attack on refugees from Central America. For years the US has taken a key role on the economic destabilization of the Global South by creating neoliberal policies to justify and enable the overexploitation of natural resources and humans. The countless US military interventions and coups at el Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and more, have created systemic violence and poverty that had lead to a mass waves of migration. Condemning asylum seekers who are running away from systemic poverty and violence created by the external forces is immoral and inhumane."

Pamela Resendiz, Deputy Director, United for a New Economy said:

“What we’re witnessing right now is a humanitarian crisis as a result of the structural problems that Honduras has been facing for decades. Not only Honduras but Latin America. And this crisis is about forced migration and a trek of thousands seeking political asylum due to level of corruption, impunity, extreme poverty and extreme violence that Honduras and many Latin American countries have been facing for a very long time. What also needs to be talked about this journey of thousands seeking asylum is the role the US directly had to un-stabilized and create the current conditions that people are fleeing.”

Sonia Hernandez, member leader, Make the Road Action in Connecticut, said:

"Throughout this nation's history, people have come here from all over the world fleeing violence, persecution, and poverty, and looking for a better life for themselves and their children. I took this journey 16 years ago. I know how it feels to leave everything you have ever known behind and make a dangerous journey to the United States. It is shameful that the Trump administration is considering another racist ban to stop these men, women and children from seeking asylum. We have seen more and more people in Connecticut eager to vote in the upcoming election - to stand up against scapegoating immigrants and to demand respect and dignity for all, and we are working hard to make sure they get to the polls."

Alma Hernandez, Board member, Action NC, said:

Action NC condemns and stands in opposition to the proposed Latinx ban. Let us be clear, what the Trump administration is considering is nothing more than another cannonball shot, in its war on immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. It is another missile fired at family unity. It is another bomb detonated, to wipe away the values and principles that make America great! It is anti-American to close our doors on the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free and escape horrible conditions in their home countries. Our members will continue to fight back, mobilizing our communities to vote in resistance to the administration’s hateful policies. We will continue to oppose the abuse of power of immigration officials and legislators and work to reunite families. Our families are strong, resilient, and powerful. We will prevail!

Marta Duran, member leader, Make the Road Action in Nevada said:

I fled from my country, El Salvador, because of the violence and because I wanted a better life for my family. At first, I had to travel by myself leaving behind my children, it was not easy. The proposed ban by president Trump is inhumane and he will never know the pain that the people from Honduras are going through. Refugees are looking for a safer way to build new lives. To understand that, it requires empathy and love. America has always been known of giving a helping hand when it is most needed. Nobody wants to be a refugee and as someone who knows the hardship and struggles these families are currently facing to reach the United States, my heart desires harmony, prosperity, and unity for their families and my own. For this and many other reasons in Nevada I am working to motivate my community to vote and they are doing it, on just the first day of voting more people than expected voted. We continue to work hard and get people out to vote for representatives that will treat our community with dignity and respect.

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www.cpdaction.org

Center for Popular Democracy Action is a national network of more than 50 community organizations dedicated to achieving racial and economic justice through local grassroots organizing. CPDA trains and supports leadership, staff, and members to grow base-building organizations to scale and leverage that strength to win cutting-edge policy victories at the federal, state and local level.