Merkley Releases Sweeping Report on Trump’s Gutting Of Asylum, Including Direct Evidence of Grave Whistleblower Concerns | U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon
- Establish a $10,000 civil claim against the U.S. government for delaying or preventing asylum seekers from crossing the U.S. border;
- Prohibit CBP officers from acting as USCIS officers;
- Establish stringent hiring qualifications for immigration judges to ensure a competent and independent judicial process;
- Right to counsel for all unaccompanied children;
- Prioritize family-based and small group care for all unaccompanied children, unless a trained child welfare expert makes an affirmative, individualized determination that congregate care would be in the best interest of the child;
- Require daily monitoring of all immigration detention facilities (including contracted facilities) by independent and specialized legal counsel and child welfare experts. Mandate weekly reports to Congress listing critical health and safety actions for ICE, CBP, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement to address within 7 days. Any facility failing to remedy a listed action within 3 weeks must be immediately shut down;
- Ban for-profit detention centers;
- Rescind the current information sharing Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The full report can be found here[3]. Video footage of Merkley discussing the report’s findings can be found here[4]. Further background on Merkley’s work to expose the Trump administration’s cruel immigration policies and to push for decency and respect within the immigration system can be found here[5].
Recent Press
- Merkley, Wyden Announce Key Wins for Everyone who Relies on Oregon’s Waterways and Ports[6]
- Merkley, Wyden Announce Investments in Rural Communities Included in Spending Bill[7]
- Merkley, Wyden Announce Major Investments in Oregon Communities Included in Spending Package[8]
- Merkley, Colleagues Push 22 Financial Services Companies to Prioritize American Health, Safety, Economic Security by Not Insuring Arctic Drilling [9]
- Following Trump Team’s Unprecedented Corruption, Merkley, Warren, Markey Urge Incoming Biden Administration to Set New, High Ethical Standard[10]
References
- ^ sweeping new report (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ Shattered Refuge: A U.S. Senate Investigation into the Trump Administration’s Gutting of Asylum (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ here (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ here (merkley.box.com)
- ^ here (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ Merkley, Wyden Announce Key Wins for Everyone who Relies on Oregon’s Waterways and Ports (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ Merkley, Wyden Announce Investments in Rural Communities Included in Spending Bill (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ Merkley, Wyden Announce Major Investments in Oregon Communities Included in Spending Package (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ Merkley, Colleagues Push 22 Financial Services Companies to Prioritize American Health, Safety, Economic Security by Not Insuring Arctic Drilling (www.merkley.senate.gov)
- ^ Following Trump Team’s Unprecedented Corruption, Merkley, Warren, Markey Urge Incoming Biden Administration to Set New, High Ethical Standard (www.merkley.senate.gov)