New York, NY | On April 22nd, President Trump announced new restrictions on U.S. Green Card issuances. For sixty days, nobody will be eligible to apply for a Green Card from outside of the U.S. There are some exceptions, including spouses and children (under 21 years of age) of U.S. citizens; health care professionals; and those who arrive with temporary visas, which includes students and guest workers like farmworkers. If the rule becomes more permanent, it would deny entry to 360,000 people a year who would have otherwise received a Green Card.
While, this will not impact members of the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP), most of whom are asylum seekers and asylees applying for Green Cards from within the U.S., it is just the latest measure in a slew of xenophobic policies that the Trump administration has leveled against immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Many of these measures have deeply impacted the QDEP community. Just last month, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) utilized fears around COVID-19 to make it impossible to claim asylum at the U.S.’ southern border with Mexico. Since then, tens of thousands of people have already been denied the human right of seeking asylum.
The Trump administration claims that this Green Card policy will protect U.S. workers who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 by eliminating competition for employment. Yet, countless studies have concluded that immigrants have an overall positive effect on the U.S. workforce and wages. Immigrants perform many essential jobs in fields ranging from healthcare to technology, farm work, and construction. “The day they stop immigration, they will also stop American production and economy. Migrants are the supporters of this country and not a burden.” Aneiry L. Zapata, a QDEP member, said.
In the U.S., COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted immigrants and people of color. Black communities have faced the highest rates of hospitalization and death due to institutionalized racism, including segregation and inadequate access to healthcare. Following New York and New Jersey, the Navajo Nation has the third-highest rate of infection. Jails, prisons, and detention centers are also facing high infection rates, as many people are confined in small spaces and there is little to no access to masks, gloves, soap, hand sanitizer, and adequate medical care. Sandra, a QDEP member detained at El Paso Processing Center, has described the conditions as “horrible, there was one woman in my dorm of 32 people–many of whom are elderly or immunocompromised–who was sick with a fever for three days before she was attended to by medical professionals. She then tested positive for the virus.”
QDEP demands that the Trump administration stop using U.S. unemployment and suffering to leverage xenophobic immigration policies. We refuse to let scapegoating distract from the systemic neglect of the communities most impacted by COVID-19. In order to truly protect people in the U.S. from the most severe impacts of COVID-19, QDEP demands that all people be released from immigration detention centers immediately and that measures be taken to drastically reduce the jail population. We ask that this administration also provide essential economic support to the communities most impacted by hospitalizations and deaths.
In the meantime, we keep us safe. QDEP is one of many communities nationwide that have been participating in mutual-aid efforts, providing access to essential resources and strengthening networks of community care. Any members of our community that need our support can contact us at info@qdep.org or via our hotline at 347.645.9339.
