Download American Government - how the United States government works and more Lecture notes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City American Government POLS1113-20470 Spring 2022 Lecture Notes #11 Contents: cover materials in Chapter 11 – Congress American Government Lecture Notes #11 More than 100 Democratic members of Congress pressed President Biden on Wednesday to address “disparate and often inhumane treatment” of Black migrants by the immigration enforcement system, reviving concerns over the mass deportations last fall of asylum-seeking Haitians despite the ongoing crisis in their country. In a letter to the president, the lawmakers, including Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, asked Mr. Biden to order a review of law enforcement and court records to assess how Black migrants are treated compared with other migrants at the border, in detention and in the immigration court system. “In addition to stopping removals to regions such as Haiti that face serious insecurity, we also urge you to take steps to address the systemic challenges Black migrants face to receiving equal treatment,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is essential that we recommit ourselves to reversing anti-Black policies, including by adopting a human-rights-centered approach to supporting immigrants and people seeking asylum in the United States.” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent, joined 13 Democratic senators and 88 Democratic House members in signing the letter, which was initiated by Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Some compared the viral images from Del Rio of Border Patrol agents on horseback appearing to corral Black migrants to the treatment of fugitive slaves in the 1800s. Some also made connections to police violence against Black Americans. Several of the lawmakers on Wednesday suggested that the use of the public health justification was in conflict with the president’s agenda on promoting racial justice. “As the Biden administration works to fulfill its promise of racial equity, it must reverse Trump-era policies like Title 42 expulsions and conduct a full review of its treatment of Black migrants,” Representative Bush said in a statement to The New York Times. She and Senator Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, initiated the letter and have been courting co-signers for months. Nongovernment organizations have written reports on the disparate treatment of Black migrants in the immigration system. They have found that Black migrants spend more time in solitary confinement while in immigration detention; are deported more often than any other race and are given higher bonds set by immigration judges.
