| On Trump’s plans for sprawling detention camps, mass deportations, border wall construction, discriminatory bans on entry, ideological screenings, terminating birthright citizenship, suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, and more, Vignarajah said: “This agenda reads like it’s straight out of the dictator’s playbook, where due process and common decency is just a footnote. What they’re designing would bypass Congress, because the Trump campaign knows there’s no popular support for the kind of authoritarian crackdown they’ve laid out.” Vignarajah also stressed the impact that such an agenda would have on both those seeking safety as well as the larger American public: “It would be absolutely devastating. We’re talking about people who are running for their lives. Parents who are doing what it takes — and what any human being would do — to protect their children. But the fallout wouldn’t be limited to immigrants because it is the restrictionist recipe for tanking the entire economy.” Finally, Vignarajah shared perspective on how the Biden administration can differentiate itself on its immigration policy messaging: “In practice, what we are seeing is, unfortunately, operating out of a place of political fear. And that’s where the Biden administration needs to set up a stark contrast: a tale of two visions. […] We need to see a shift. Instead of adopting policies like Title 42, instead of thinking about asylum bans, and negotiating on these types of terms, we need a real strategy to explain why immigration is important.” |
