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(Washington, D.C.) – Black migrants are criminalized and disproportionately harmed by U.S. immigration policies including asylum, enforcement, detention and deportation. October 11, 2021 commences the National Week of Action in support of Black migrants excluded from temporary and permanent protections.

The following is a statement from Damon Hewitt, president and executive director with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:

“The recent inhumane treatment of Black migrants at the southern border is just the latest example of racially discriminatory, abusive, and illegal border policies and practices that harm people and make humanitarian disaster more likely. The federal government must follow through on its stated commitment to equity by treating Black migrants with dignity and compassion, especially as they flee untenable conditions and abuses to seek a better life in this country. They are worthy of our nation’s empathy and support. Policy decisions must demonstrate, in spirit and in practice, that our federal government believes this, too.”

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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes.  For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.