Quixote Center works to influence United States policies that impact the people we work with. We advocate with Congress and the Administration to change US foreign policies that exacerbate extreme poverty and vulnerability in Haiti and Nicaragua. Extreme poverty, violence, and vulnerability lead families to make the heartbreaking decision to migrate, to the United States or elsewhere. We work to address these root causes when they have a US policy solution. We also advocate for immigration policies in the United States that promote the dignity of migrants, focusing on preserving the asylum system.
Our current priorities include:
Quixote Center impacts policies through:
Join us in calling on the Biden administration to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians who will otherwise lose their status in February 2023, putting them at risk of deportation. We are also calling for the administration to redesignate the date for TPS so that all Haitians currently in the U.S. may apply.
For more background on TPS is and why it is so important, click HERE.
There are currently four different legal challenges to Trump’s decision to suspend Temporary Protected Status for most countries. Developments in one particular case have ramifications for TPS holders from Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Sudan. We are working to ensure that this information gets out into communities affected as there continues to be much confusion about the timeframe.
We will continue to demand a permanent solution, one that offers a path to permanent residency and citizenship.
Immigration policy is the responsibility of the federal government. However, in the deeply polarized times we live in, achieving comprehensive immigration reform at the national level has not been achieved. Indeed, the last comprehensive legislation passed was in 1996 - and it was not good legislation, paving the way for mandatory detention.
A sampling of today’s headlines on immigration, race, and related stories.
October 17, 2018
Top Story
The Nicaragua Investment Conditionality Act has been floating around congress since 2015. The main idea behind the bill is to direct the U.S. Executive Branch to use its voting power in multilateral lending institutions to block any new loans for Nicaragua until a set of reforms regarding elections and transparency is implemented.
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The last day called for the national prison strike was Sunday, September 9. As we’ve reported over the last couple of weeks, details on exact numbers and the kinds of actions that people incarcerated have participated in can be hard to verify. So, not a complete list, but organizers have confirmed 33 actions across 15 states and Nova Scotia, Canada.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Beginning on August 21, people incarcerated in prisons and jails and immigration detention facilities began a series of actions to raise awareness about the conditions of their imprisonment. Accompanying the call to action is a list of 10 demands for reform.
The Quixote Center is one of over 300 organizations that has endorsed the demands of prisoners around the country who are engaged in various forms of protests that began last week and runs through September 9th.
It is difficult to get confirmation of actions that take place inside prisons, but today’s update from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak included the following items that were confirmed from the last few days:
The Quixote Center stands in solidarity with people who are incarcerated in the United States and who are currently engaged in collective actions to raise awareness about the conditions of incarceration and demanding change.
We endorse the 10 point platform of the National Prison Strike:
President Trump has nominated Kathy Kraninger to be the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Kraninger has very little experience for this post. Currently, she works for the Office of Management and Budget overseeing program planning and implementation for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. As a result, she has been a key player in coordinating immigration policy, especially the “zero tolerance” policy that led to thousands of children being separated from family members.
A new series in which we (will aspire to) offer a sampling of today’s headlines on immigration, race, and related stories.
An article in The Hill discusses the impact of Attorney General Session’s recent decisions to reopen 8,000 immigration cases, which had been administratively closed, on judicial independence.
