Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today expressed its alarm and heightened concern over an announcement by the Biden administration that it will waive public health and environmental laws to begin construction of a border wall in Starr County, TX. The announcement comes on the tail of President Biden coming to an agreement with the authoritarian regime in Venezuela to begin deporting Venezuelan asylum seekers, something the U.S. had previously refused to do due to the country’s disturbing record of human rights abuses.
CWS calls on the administration, and Congress, to welcome those fleeing violence, persecution, and desperation — and do everything in their power to uphold their dignity and right to seek protection. Now is the time to focus on building bridges, not walls that deny opportunities for permanent protection.
“The administration’s actions not only run contrary to President Biden’s promises on the campaign trail, but to our most treasured values as a nation. We would be better off embracing our spirit of welcome, not the enmity of exclusion. Meanwhile, as the president has championed mending our divisions and creating paths to expand our capacity to welcome, he is contrarily committing to build a wall on our southern border that alienates hopeful Americans from our communities,” said Danilo Zak, Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy at CWS “Our cities, towns, and neighborhoods have shown the willingness and ability to welcome the stranger. They have seen that through accepting new neighbors, how our economies and culture have benefited. The federal budget is a moral document that should be used to invest in community wholeness. To instead invest in a wall, or to disregard a population in need of protection, is counter to what our communities want and need.”
CWS calls on the administration and Congress to end border wall construction, and invest resources and political will into policies that welcome asylum seekers and others fleeing violence and persecution.
For more information, or to speak with CWS, contact media@cwsglobal.org.