As the Jewish holidays of Shabbat and Shavuot conclude, HIAS strongly condemns the announcement of a new memo from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which could force hundreds of thousands of people who are pursuing lawful permanent residence to leave the United States and wait abroad for years while their cases are processed.
”The administration’s new policy could force thousands of people to be separated from their families, their jobs, and their homes in order to wait for years outside of the country for their green card,” said Beth Oppenheim, HIAS President & CEO. “It echoes again and again the concept that no one is permanent here, unless they fit a particular notion of what it means to be worthy of protection. And that simply cannot stand.”
The policy will affect spouses, children, siblings and parents of U.S. citizens, as well as people seeking adjustment of status for employment reasons. It could even affect people who sought safety in the United States for humanitarian reasons and for whom returning to their country of origin would present acute danger. It threatens to separate families, destabilize communities, and inject even greater fear and uncertainty into an already overwhelmed immigration system.
“The erosion of the long U.S. legacy of providing welcome and safety is not new. Not for this administration, nor for the many millions of immigrants and newcomers it has terrified,” continued Oppenheim. “What is new is the absolute speed, stealth, and nuance it requires of people to understand these changes and their human impact.”
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