Many immigrants have been living in fear of deportation for the past 23 years. The New Way Forward Act is a milestone bill that restores due process protections for all immigrants, including those in deportation proceedings.
The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, along with the Illegal Immigration Reform and the Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 restricted immigration judges from considering multiple factors regarding a person’s deportation. It didn’t matter if these people were parents, caregivers, leaders, or fully rehabilitated individuals, the law forced immigration judges to treat these human beings as aliens. By disregarding the titles and personal lives of immigrants, the 1996 government dehumanized those who lacked American citizenship, which laid the groundwork for the current administration’s policies.
In 2017, President Trump issued an executive order that targeted the removal of anyone without legal status and a criminal record. It even subjected those with a green card to deportation if they had committed a certain crime within seven years of entry. The Trump Administration has also been using visa sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and other tactics to renegotiate repatriation agreements, including the 2008 agreement that protected Vietnamese immigrants who entered the U.S. before July 12, 1995 from deportation. Since then, hundreds of non-violent refugees with decades-old convictions have been detained by ICE.
The long-overdue New Way Forward Act eliminates mandatory detentions, creates a five-year statute of limitations for deportations, and it enforces fair treatment for all immigrants through the nation’s judicial system. This bill is just one tiny solution to the devastating consequences brought on by the unfair policies created in the 90s. The New Way Forward Act will steer our government away from past mistakes and guide our nation forward into a better future.
