9 OCTOBER 2020
50 National and State Advocacy Organizations Urge Senate Judiciary Leaders to Oppose Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court
In a Letter to Sens. Graham and Feinstein Organized by the Immigration Hub, United We Dream and UndocuBlack Network, Groups Cite Barret’s Xenophobic Record and Opposition to Pro-Immigrant Positions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifty national and state advocacy organizations today urged the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee to oppose the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court — citing Barrett’s abysmal record against immigrants during her time on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and concerns that if confirmed, she would serve as a rubber-stamp to uphold the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies. The letter — organized by the Immigration Hub, United We Dream and UndocuBlack Network and sent to the Committee’s Chair and Ranking Member, Sens. Lindsay Graham and Dianne Feinstein — points out Barrett’s record as evidence of the “indisputable adverse impact her decisions would have on immigrant communities.”
“From instituting multiple iterations of asylum bans targeting Muslim-majority and African countries, to forcibly separating families at the border, and allowing for dangerous and unsanitary conditions to proliferate in detention centers, leading to the deadliest year on record for migrants in detention, this administration has pushed forward an unrelenting agenda of hatred and xenophobia against immigrant communities since inauguration,” the letter reads.
“Given her abysmal record against immigrants, it is clear that Barrett would uphold the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies should she be on the Court.”
The Immigration Hub and other national advocates — including United We Dream and UndocuBlack Network — further sounded off on the rippling consequences that could materialize for immigrants if Barrett is confirmed to the Court.
“Installing Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court would undoubtedly result in harm to the millions of immigrants who live in this country,” said Kerri Talbot, Director of Federal Advocacy for Immigration Hub. “Our immigration system is at a tipping point, and putting another anti-immigrant justice on the Supreme Court would ensure a generation of rulings that strip protections from immigrations and promote xenophobic Republican policies at all levels of government.”
“Amy Coney Barrett has a record of stripping rights from the most vulnerable, including immigrants,” said Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, State/Local Policy Manager from United We Dream. “She would be a disastrous addition to the Supreme Court. This June, a 5-4 majority solidified a victory for immigrant youth on DACA. Chad Wolf, the illegitimate acting DHS Secretary issued a secondary memo defying the Court, and seeking to dismantle DACA as we know it. As we continue to fight back to protect DACA recipients, it’s likely a second DACA case will come up to the Supreme Court and DACA recipient’s lives will once again depend on this Court’s ruling. Installing another anti-immigrant justice, will help solidify a reversal of the hard-won victory from this past June and the deportation of hundreds of thousands of people who know no other home but the United States. The Senate must wait until after inauguration, and not rush through this disastrous nomination.”
“As Black undocumented people, we remain committed to the struggle for equitable policies and fighting the attacks on our multi-faceted lives, this is why who fills the vacant SCOTUS seat is important to us,” said Patrice Lawrence, Co-director of UndocuBlack Network. “As Immigrants, womxn, queer, disabled, indigenous people, it is not an exaggeration to say that our lives hang in the balance and in the hands of Congress and the Judiciary of the United States. This palpable tension is exemplified in the lives of 300,000 TPS holders and their 270,000 U.S. citizen children whose fate may soon be partly decided by the next Supreme Court of the United States appointee.
“In the past few years, we have seen how the power of the Supreme Court, if wielded in the wrong hands can not only thwart our pursuit for justice and freedom but can be deadly. Such power in the hands of a nominee of the Trump Administration at this time before elections, will indisputably have a hostile impact on our communities. This is why it matters when the vacant SCOTUS seat is filled. For this reason, we strongly urge you to vote with your conscience and oppose the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.”
The text of the letter and list of the 50 organizations that signed on can be found below.
An annotated version of the letter with footnotes and citations can be found here.
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October 8, 2020
Dear Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein:
The 50 undersigned organizations strongly urge you to oppose the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court given the indisputable adverse impact her decisions would have on immigrant communities. From instituting multiple iterations of asylum bans targeting Muslim-majority and African countries, to forcibly separating families at the border, and allowing for dangerous and unsanitary conditions to proliferate in detention centers, leading to the deadliest year on record for migrants in detention, this administration has pushed forward an unrelenting agenda of hatred and xenophobia against immigrant communities since inauguration. Given her abysmal record against immigrants, it is clear that Barrett would uphold the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies should she be on the Court.
Through her rulings in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Barrett has made her hostility toward immigrants evident. In her dissent in Cook County v. Wolf, which led the court to temporarily bar the administration from implementing the public charge rule, Barrett wrote that the administration’s interpretation of the relevant law was not “unreasonable,” while the majority countered that her argument failed to take into account the immigrants who would bear the brunt of the rule. Separately, Barrett agreed with the Board of Immigration Appeals in denying asylum to two different Salvadorans seeking asylum and relief under the Convention Against Torture in Alvarenga-Flores v. Sessions and Herrera-Garcia v. Barr, ruling that their persecution claims were “speculative” and not “credible” despite the traumatic nature of what the asylum seekers claimed.
Additional rulings against immigrants that raise significant concerns about the effects that Barrett’s position on the Court would have, include Barrett’s deciding vote in Lopez Ramos v. Barr, which led to the immediate deportation of a Mexican immigrant who had been a lawful permanent resident for three decades and who was denied the opportunity to argue in court that his deportation violated his rights as the son of a naturalized citizen. Additionally, Barrett wrote an opinion in Yafai v. Pompeo, dismissing the case of a U.S. citizen who claimed that his due process rights were violated when a consular official denied his spouse a visa based on unsubstantiated and contradicted allegations of wrongdoing. These rulings shed light on the positions on immigration that Barrett would take should she be confirmed.
Should Barrett be confirmed to serve on the Court, the future of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and the Flores settlement will be in certain jeopardy. This summer, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of over 600,000 DACA recipients, protecting them from deportation and finding that the administration’s attempt to terminate the program was unlawful. Subsequently, Chad Wolf, who is unlawfully serving as the Acting Secretary of DHS, issued a memo ending the program as we know it by rejecting new applications and curbing protections for existing recipients from two years to only one. Challenges to these moves could reach the Supreme Court, especially since both a GAO report and a federal judge in Maryland found that Wolf was illegitimately appointed to his position. Another DACA case, Texas v. Nielsen, which concerns the constitutionality of the program itself, could reach the Supreme Court as well.
On TPS, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Trump administration to end the program, threatening more than 300,000 people with deportation. The case could be brought before the Supreme Court for a final decision. If the case reaches a court with Barrett on the bench, the administration could end the program, upending the lives of TPS holders and their families, including 270,000 American citizen children. The future of the Flores Settlement, which sets important, baseline standards of care for children in detention is also at stake. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments on May 19th, 2020 in the government’s appeal of the court’s decision to block the implementation of a rule that undercuts the Flores settlement. Once it renders its decision, the Supreme Court could ultimately be asked to weigh in. From her record so far, we have more than enough reason to believe that Barrett would not hesitate to side with the administration in its attempts to dismantle existing protections for immigrants and enable the implementation of hateful policies that target and threaten the well-being of immigrants.
A vote in favor of Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court is a vote against immigrant communities and a vote against marginalized communities across the country. Barrett, adding to the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, would further enable the court to erode the rights and protections of the most vulnerable among us. We implore you to consider the long-term consequences on these communities as a result of Barrett’s position on the Court and urge you to vote no on her nomination.
Sincerely,
Adhikaar
America’s Voice
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Asian American Advocacy Fund
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project
California Immigrant Policy Center
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Popular Democracy Action
Church World Service
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
Coalition on Human Needs
Dreamer Fund
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
Farmworker Justice
First Focus Campaign for Children
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Hands Across the River
Hispanic Federation
Immigration Hub
Lawyers for Good Government
League of Conservation Voters
Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center
MomsRising
MoveOn
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Equality Action Team (NEAT)
National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)
National Immigration Law Center
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Partnership for New Americans
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New York Immigration Coalition
North Carolina Justice Center
Ohio Immigrant Alliance
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
RAICES
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN)
SPLC Action Fund
The Children's Partnership
Transgender Law Center
UndocuBlack
Union for Reform Judaism
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
United We Dream
Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.
The UndocuBlack Network (UBN), is a network of Black and currently or formerly undocumented folkx all across the country. UndocuBlack™️ fosters a strong and resilient community, serves as a fierce advocate, and facilitates access to resources – all while promoting understanding about what it means to feel twice rejected by the country Black and undocumented people call home.
United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, a powerful network made up of over 400,000 members and 48 affiliate organizations across 26 states. UWD’s vision is to build a multi-racial, multi-ethnic movement of young people who organize and advocate at the local and national levels for the dignity and justice of immigrants and communities of color in the United States.