Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City
American Government POLS1113-20470
Spring 2022
Lecture Notes #11
Contents: cover materials in Chapter 11 – Congress
American Government
Lecture Notes #11
More than 100 Democratic members of Congress pressed President Biden on Wednesday to address
“disparate and often inhumane treatment” of Black migrants by the immigration enforcement system,
reviving concerns over the mass deportations last fall of asylum-seeking Haitians despite the ongoing
crisis in their country.
In a letter to the president, the lawmakers, including Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, asked
Mr. Biden to order a review of law enforcement and court records to assess how Black migrants are
treated compared with other migrants at the border, in detention and in the immigration court system.
“In addition to stopping removals to regions such as Haiti that face serious insecurity, we also urge you
to take steps to address the systemic challenges Black migrants face to receiving equal treatment,” the
lawmakers wrote. “It is essential that we recommit ourselves to reversing anti-Black policies, including
by adopting a human-rights-centered approach to supporting immigrants and people seeking asylum in
the United States.”
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent, joined 13 Democratic senators and 88 Democratic
House members in signing the letter, which was initiated by Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, and
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Some compared the viral images from Del Rio of Border Patrol agents on horseback appearing to corral
Black migrants to the treatment of fugitive slaves in the 1800s. Some also made connections to police
violence against Black Americans.
Several of the lawmakers on Wednesday suggested that the use of the public health justification was in
conflict with the president’s agenda on promoting racial justice.
“As the Biden administration works to fulfill its promise of racial equity, it must reverse Trump-era
policies like Title 42 expulsions and conduct a full review of its treatment of Black migrants,”
Representative Bush said in a statement to The New York Times. She and Senator Booker, Democrat of
New Jersey, initiated the letter and have been courting co-signers for months.
Nongovernment organizations have written reports on the disparate treatment of Black migrants in the
immigration system. They have found that Black migrants spend more time in solitary confinement
while in immigration detention; are deported more often than any other race and are given higher
bonds set by immigration judges.
