Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org, 202 495-3022
Washington, DC-- Moments ago, the Trump administration reportedly announced it will force quotas on immigration judges to speed up and order more deportations. The order comes just after the president tweeted yesterday that he intends to take protections or a deal for Dreamers off-the-table - and use any means to push his xenophobic campaign-oriented anti-immigration agenda and a multi-billion dollar border wall.
Over the past week, Trump has expressed his disappointment with the omnibus budget that allotted $1.6 billion for border wall, advocated for further cuts to the number of immigrants admitted annually, and called for the elimination of protections for Liberian refugees. At the same time this administration is attacking these protections, construction on the border wall begins this week. New wall will target Santa Teresa in New Mexico, San Diego in California and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s actions today are yet another attempt to divide families and push his cruel and racist agenda on families across the country. Trump created the Dreamer crisis when he ended DACA last year and continues pushing blame off on Democrats while fear mongering via social media, even on a holiday weekend. His racist attempts to scapegoat families and communities by attacking immigrants, forcing judges to deport people and constructing a destructive wall in their backyards worsens by the day. We will not stand by and let Trump push his xenophobic and hateful agenda-- he can expect continued resistance on every step of this anti-immigrant, anti-environment path.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.