(COLUMBUS, OH 12/14/22) – Along with more than 40 state and local organizations, the Ohio chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) signs on to a letter urging Congress to preserve language included in the draft Senate omnibus bill, directing the Department of Homeland Security to establish a centralized process whereby people who were deported can apply for an opportunity to return to their families, homes, jobs, and communities.
Members of Congress issued a resolution that enforces permanent banishment with no process in place for immigrants to return. Lifetime separation from their families and the lives they built over years is an extreme consequence for an immigration visa problem.
CAIR-Ohio Legal Director Lina Abbaoui said in a statement: “The systems that immigrants must navigate presents numerous barriers and legal challenges that put a strain on families, and the health of communities. If we allow a dangerous resolution that permanently bars deportees from reentry, the cost of these systems intensifies for the most vulnerable and the impacts would be devastating.”
As a strong advocate of immigrants and refugee rights, CAIR-Ohio urges Congress to preserve language included in the draft Senate bill, directing the Department of Homeland Security to establish a centralized process whereby people who are deported can apply for an opportunity to return to their families, homes, jobs, and communities.
Read the full letter and list of organizations who signed on here.
CAIR-Ohio is a proud member of the Immigrant Dignity Coalition whose purpose is to inform, connect, and mobilize the Southwest Ohio / Northern Kentucky community to defend and protect the dignity of the immigrant and refugee community by working in partnership and as allies.
