January, 26 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Amnesty International USA and Partners to Brief Press on Trump Administration's Muslim Ban Expansion
In response to reports that President Trump is expanding what has become known as the Muslim ban, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), along with a coalition of immigrant rights groups leading the work to protect the rights of communities impacted by the ban, will brief press on the impacts of this expansion and actions to be taken in the face of these cruel and inhumane policies.
WASHINGTON
In response to reports that President Trump is expanding what has become known as the Muslim ban, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), along with a coalition of immigrant rights groups leading the work to protect the rights of communities impacted by the ban, will brief press on the impacts of this expansion and actions to be taken in the face of these cruel and inhumane policies.
In the aftermath of the initial ban unveiled exactly three years ago today, AIUSA created a dozen case studies of the harms caused to individuals and families from Yemen, Iran, Sudan and elsewhere and documented the ways lives had been upended by the ban, and in 2019, AIUSA's researchers traveled to Lebanon and Jordan to conduct nearly 50 interviews with refugees who, as a result of the ban, have been stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens. Two of the families profiled in the report are available for interviews.
Those wishing to call-in must RSVP to Mariya Parodi at media@aiusa.org. International lines will be available. Please let us know where you are calling from, if outside the U.S.
WHAT: Briefing by Amnesty International USA and other leading advocacy groups on Trump administration's Muslim ban expansion announcement
WHEN: Tuesday, January 28, 2020, 2:00 PM ET
HOW: Please RSVP to media@aiusa.org for call-in information
WHO:
- Margaret Huang, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
- Madihha Ahussain, Special Counsel for Anti-Muslim Bigotry, Muslim Advocates
- Linda Sarsour, Executive Director, MPower Change & Steering Committee Member, No Muslim Ban Ever Campaign
- Abed Ayoub, National Legal and Policy Director, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
- Donna Farvard, National Organizing Director, National Iranian American Council
- Robert McCaw, CAIR National Director of Government Affairs Department, Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Patrice Lawrence, Co-director, UndocuBlack Network
This statement is available at: https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/amnesty-international-usa-and-partners-to-brief-press-on-trump-administrations-muslim-ban-expansion/
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Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
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According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
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