Topic

Immigration

464 petitions
3,805 new supporters this week

Petition to Department of Homeland Security

Stop tearing families apart

The Trump Administration recently began implementing a new “zero tolerance” prosecution policy that has separated hundreds of immigrant children, including infants and toddlers, from their parents upon arriving at the border. These families are often fleeing horrific violence, and parents are doing everything they can to protect their children by coming to the United States. Taking these children from their parents is inhumane, unnecessary, and unacceptable. Sign our petition and demand that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stop tearing immigrant children from their parents. Under Attorney General Sessions’ new policy, adults arriving at the border outside of designated ports of entry will be criminally prosecuted and sent to U.S. Marshal Service custody to await prosecution, and then transferred to immigration detention to await immigration proceedings. Children cannot be kept in adult detention facilities and will be rendered “unaccompanied,” transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and placed in different facilities and shelters for children, sometimes several states away from their parents. Pediatricians and child welfare professionals have spoken out forcefully about the significant and enduring trauma forced separations inflict on children and their families. Family separation also creates challenges for children seeking legal protection, who must now prepare their cases with only limited access to information and documentation from their parents that could help to prove their claims. As a result, children may be unable to support their cases for asylum and be returned to harm or death in their home countries. There is no law that compels the separation of children from their parents, and the Administration can and should immediately halt policies that embrace this cruel and unnecessary practice. This ruthless and brutish targeting and treatment of particularly vulnerable children and families is being done in the name of all Americans. Join us in calling on DHS to immediately stop separating immigrant families.

Kids In Need of Defense
531,630 supporters
Promoted by 305 supporters

Petition to Bill Schuette, Jeff Sessions, Department of Homeland Security, Gary C. Peters

Keep Francis Anwana, a deaf and disabled immigrant, in the United States

Francis Anwana is a deaf and disabled Nigerian immigrant who came to the United States of America on a student visa when was just 14 years old. Once enrolled at the Michigan School for the Deaf, Francis was taught sign language and given resources for his cognitive disability which were not afforded to him in his native Nigeria. Francis is now 48, lives in an adult foster care facility and works small jobs at a church in Detroit. He has said he's happy here. Michigan has been his home for 34 years. Nigeria is not a country he has been accustomed to since he was a teenager. On September 5th, ICE notified Francis that he would be deported on September 11th. Advocates were able to delay his deportation and set a meeting with immigration officials. Several years ago, Francis' visa was not renewed because caretakers lost track of his case since he was frequently moved around group homes. Due to his disability, he reads at a second-grade level. Francis depends on the help of others to initiate and aid in his residential status proceedings. Several attempts have been made to achieve citizenship for Francis, which he has been denied and instead placed in deportation proceedings. An attempt was also made to seek asylum based on the conditions people with disabilities are treated in Nigeria, but he was denied. (Link below on how the disabled are treated in Nigeria) Francis has no criminal record and has been compliant with ICE officials.  Join us in telling ICE officials and elected officials that the deportation of Francis Anwana would be inhumane. To deport him would mean taking him from the resources and community where he has been allowed to flourish, only to release him into an environment in which he would not be able to receive proper medical care and treatment. Deportation would mean treating his disability as a crime.  Please sign and share our petition to help Francis remain in the USA. Resources: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/09/08/deaf-immigrant-deportation-francis-anwana/1226728002/  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433448/  https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/1243524002 

Emily Hickner
51,064 supporters
Promoted by 911 supporters

Petition to Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

Keep them together! Stop separating children from their families at the U.S. border.

The New York Times reported that since October 2017 more than 700 children have been separated along the southwest border from adults claiming to be their parents, including 100 children under the age of 4. Many of these children remain in custody indefinitely apart from their parents. “Needlessly ripping kids, toddlers, babies away from their parents is inhumane, barbaric and unconstitutional. An Administration that purports to uphold family values is callously inflicting devastating trauma on children and families in service of its punitive immigration policies,” said Sandy Santana, Executive Director of Children’s Rights. In an amicus brief filed in March on behalf of an asylum seeker separated from her seven-year old daughter, Children’s Rights explained that the traumatic stress that a child experiences when needlessly separated from a parent may have life-long consequences because it can disrupt the development of brain architecture and other organ systems and increase the risk of stress-related diseases and cognitive impairment well into the adult years. You can read more about the amicus brief here.Children’s Rights will work with its partners to continue to advocate for immigrant children separated from their families. As Christina Remlin, Lead Attorney and author of our amicus brief put it: “How can we tuck our children in at night, knowing that our government is doing this to other parents who love theirs as much as we do? How do we inflict such cruel trauma on children?” Please sign and share our petition to Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kirstjen M. Nielsen. About Children’s Rights Every day, children are harmed by America’s broken child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and healthcare systems. Through relentless strategic advocacy and legal action, we hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Children’s Rights has made a lasting impact, protecting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children and we are poised to help millions more. They are depending on us…and you. http://www.childrensrights.org/    

Children's Rights
205,119 supporters
1,054 new supporters this week

Petition to President of the United States

Children don't belong in cages

The Trump administration is trying to indefinitely imprison immigrant families and children in cages. If he is successful, we’re going to see babies celebrating birthday after birthday from behind a chain link fence – all because their families tried to escape unspeakable violence in their home countries. Join our campaign to end long-term, indefinite detention of immigrant children. Earlier this year, the Trump administration enacted a “zero tolerance” policy, prosecuting and detaining immigrant adults for the “crime” of crossing the U.S. border. Because of a 1997 settlement called Flores, children are not allowed to be detained in prison-like environments such as adult detention facilities for more than 20 days. But now Trump’s new Executive Order would allow for immigrant children to be held in detention indefinitely. The separation of families fleeing violence is cruel and inhumane – but keeping babies in cages indefinitely is much worse. Immigrant detention centers are unsafe for any human being. In the past few years several allegations have surfaced of abuse and sexual assault against detention center guards and we know that people in detention are denied access to basic healthcare services. Already adults are held in these facilities for months on end; it is unimaginable that children would find themselves growing up in these prison-like facilities. If we want to keep families together we should stop prosecuting their parents for making the same decision we would all make: fleeing to the U.S. border to keep our children safe from violence at home. Children don’t belong in cages. Sign our petition to keep them out of long-term detention.

Kids In Need of Defense
482,180 supporters
Update posted 4 hours ago

Petition to U.S. Department of State, US House of Representatives, Barack Obama, US Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Department of Homeland Security, United States Department of State, U.S. Senate

Reduce the waiting time on India Immigration EB2 and EB3 Categories!

Thousands of people from India are awaiting for their permanent residence based on employment categories 2 (EB 2) and (EB3).  Unlike many other countries, India has the highest backlog in the entire waiting time.  The reasons this time should be reduced are: 1.  Most employees waiting on their Green Cards are under Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics contributing  immensely to the economy; 2. It will prevent abuses on employees; 3. Will create more jobs because more entrepreneurs will be interested in investing in the United States; 4. It is unfair and against the United States principles of equality dictated by the US Constitution. We pray the State Department and the United States government to change the waiting time on Employment Based Categories for India and China. Shah Peerally, Esq. President of Shah Peerally Law Group PC www.PeerallyLaw.com Immoral Retrogression Like the page  Facebook.com/VisaBulletinNews http://immigrationlegalblog.com/2016/05/keeping-the-visa-bulletin-retrogressed-is-not-only-unfair-but-immoral/

Shah Peerally
6,703 supporters
Update posted 18 hours ago

Petition to Mitch O'Farrell

Help Super Pan Bakery of Virgil Village Get More Time to Relocate

Super Pan Bakery has served as a hallmark of the East Hollywood and Virgil Village community for over 20 years. In a community of immigrant families where the majority of family members work at or below minimum wage, items and prices like those of the bakery not only represent culture, but protect it, providing a sense of place for young and ‘old’ residents of the neighborhood alike. Earlier this year, the landlord of the space where Super Pan is located sold the property to another owner, though not without falsely stating to the incoming owner that Doña Elvia and her family had only occupied the space for just two years prior. On August 16, 2018, the new ownership of the space abruptly gave Doña Elvia and her family a 60 day Notice to Terminate Tenancy. At the time of this writing, the family now has less than 19 days to leave their 20-year-old bakery, where Doña Elvia’s children and even grandchildren have grown up. The 60 Days they were given to relocate are not enough to move out 20 years’ worth of memories, items, and other belongings of theirs, and we know we can at least get an extension for the Panaderia to move out until the end of this year in December.We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens and constituents who urge Mitch O’Farrell, the local councilman representative for East Hollywood, whose stated mission is to uphold the quality of life for our neighborhood, to act now to help Super Pan Bakery get until December to relocate.

Este Pueblo De Virgil
581 supporters
This petition won 2 years ago

Petition to Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley

Exempt Wartime Interpreters from President Trump's Executive Order Banning Immigration

As an U.S. Army Captain serving in Afghanistan, I was almost killed by Taliban fighters. My Afghan translator, Janis, saved my life. We made a promise to translators like Janis, who served alongside our troops, to help them immigrate to the United States.President Trump’s ban on all immigration of refugees breaks that promise to the thousands of Afghan and Iraqi wartime allies. The president's Executive Order shuts the door on thousands of foreign interpreters, our wartime allies, who served alongside our military since 2001. Enacting a four-month ban on ALL immigration of refugees and an outright ban on the immigration of Iraqis condemns thousands of our Iraqi wartime allies to languish and fend for themselves against the very enemies we asked them to help us fight.The blanket ban on immigration from Iraq and the four month moratorium on immigration from Afghanistan prevents our allies from reaching safety here in America and leaves countless thousands to be hunted for their service to the United States. If we commit to this, we will permanently harm our national security. Our credibility will be forever neutered if not eroded. Why would any potential ally ever trust America to keep its word again? It pains me to think how many US soldiers will now die in future wars because we couldn't recruit the local support that is often the difference between life and death. Moreover, this ban imposes a lifetime moral injury on our Iraq war veterans. Vietnam Veterans speak often of their half-century injury at having abandoned so many of our Vietnamese allies. Please ask President Trump to keep our promise to America’s veterans and allow for the Special Immigration Visa program to continue uninterrupted. Sincerely, Matt Zeller, Co-FounderNo One Left Behind  

No One Left Behind
40,868 supporters
This petition won 2 years ago

Petition to US Embassy in Kabul, US Department of State

Help save Ehsan, the interpreter in Afghanistan who helped US troops

Thanks to a previous Change.org petition, I was able to help Janis Shinwari, my interpreter while I served as a base intelligence officer in Afghanistan, secure a visa to resettle in the US after he was stuck for years in bureaucratic red tape. Now I need your help again to save my other interpreter, Ehsan.  While serving in Iraq in 2008, I learned that the help of local Afghan nationals like Janis and Ehsan was critical to our effort. Thousands of Afghan nationals have served as interpreters to assist US troops in communicating in real time and providing a cultural link between the troops and Afghan nationals. It wasn’t until after my service, when I learned that Janis’ life was in danger as he was placed on a Taliban kill list because of his work to help US troops, that I truly understand how much these brave individuals put on the line. Every day, many of these interpreters live in fear that they or their families will be harmed in retaliation for their efforts -- a very real and deadly threat. Like Janis, Ehsan is an amazing man. During our time together, Ehsan helped my unit and I interdict over 7 tons (millions of dollars worth) of drugs used by the Taliban to fund their attacks. The Taliban know this and as a result placed him on their kill list. Without our help, he could die.  Luckily, the US operates a specific visa program for Afghan nationals who serve as interpreters who want to relocate to the US -- and there is a similar program for interpreters in Iraq. The program was created through legislation in 2009 (the Afghan Allies Protection Act), but thousands of interpreters are still waiting for their visas. The process is incredibly complicated for applicants and bureaucrat hold ups leave interpreters waiting in dangerous situations for months or even years. Now, both programs are set to expire in the coming months unless Congress takes action to renew them. When my previous campaign took off, Janis’ application started moving faster and now Janis has his visa to safety. I don't think I've ever heard him as happy as when he finally received his visa. Ehsan, my other interpreter, heard all about our efforts to help Janis and contacted me begging that I do for him what I did for Janis. Ehsan submitted his application to the US Embassy in Kabul in June 2012 but he’s still waiting for his visa. The Embassy and the State Department have the power to help Ehsan leave Afghanistan and start a life in a safe place. Together, we can help make that happen.

Matt Zeller
116,501 supporters