The Workers Circle Responds to Biden-Harris Administration Executive Action Capping Asylum-Seeking Refugees at Southern Border
June 4, 2024
Contact: Lynsey Billet, lynsey@anatgerstein.com 347-361-8449
(New York, N.Y.) – Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced executive actions that will bar people who cross the southern border outside ports of entry, from asylum. Once this first-of-its-kind, arbitrary cap of 2,500 asylum-seekers is reached, refugees will be returned to their home country in violation of US and international law.
Ann Toback, CEO of the Workers Circle responded:
“We are shocked that the Biden Administration has instituted an arbitrary asylum cap at the southern border which will lead to intense human suffering and human rights abuses. As a Jewish social justice organization whose Eastern European immigrant founders fled pogroms and persecutions for these shores seeking safety, freedom and the ability to participate fully in democratic society, we urge the Biden Administration to put the well-being of refugees ahead of political gamesmanship about border security and reverse this rule. We must not play politics with people’s lives.”
Link to White House fact sheet: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/04/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-secure-the-border/
About the Workers Circle
The Workers Circle is a national, secular, Jewish social justice organization founded by Eastern European immigrants who came to the United States fleeing autocracy and persecution, and seeking democratic freedoms and economic opportunities at the turn of the 20th century. That history drives our work for an inclusive democracy and human equality today. Our activism is rooted in 1,000 years of Yiddish culture and tradition. Through strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, and interactive educational programs, we power a multi-generational community of activists that is building “a better and more beautiful world for all.” Learn more at www.circle.org.