LWVUS joined a sign-on letter to the President opposing the Administration's anti-humanitarian and anti-immigration policies following the shooting of National Guard members in DC.
December 9, 2025
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Trump:
We, the undersigned 130 national, state, and local legal services; humanitarian, human, civil, economic development, labor rights, faith-based, and veteran organizations, write to address the administration’s actions in the days since the violent attack that occurred in Washington, D.C. on November 26. We grieve for the families impacted by this unimaginable tragedy and call for justice and accountability for the victims. While doing so, we also strongly urge you to immediately reverse course and fully restore our nation’s humanitarian and immigration programs, free from discriminatory or hateful policies and rhetoric.
We are outraged by your administration’s exploitation of this tragedy to further an already-extreme policy agenda. The policies and actions announced over the last week—indefinitely halting all asylum applications, suspending visa issuances and immigration applications for Afghans (including our allies who assisted the U.S. mission and whose lives are threatened as a result), threatening to "permanently end" immigration from "Third World Countries"—are not public safety measures. Rather, they are appalling and bigoted attempts to use this tragedy as a pretext to end lawful immigration and humanitarian pathways.
The policies and rhetoric employed by this administration not only leave people in extreme danger abroad but also harm longtime residents and mixed status families in the United States. For example, your administration has said it will re-examine lawful permanent residents from 19 countries and re-interview hundreds of thousands of refugees admitted under the previous administration; many of these individuals have lived and worked in the United States for many years, raising families and creating jobs. Putting these families in unnecessary limbo is cruel and destabilizing for them and their communities. Dehumanizing rhetoric has no place in our government and places Americans in danger.
Collective punishment and vilification of Afghans, Somalis, refugees, asylum seekers, or immigrants writ large is not sound national security policy, and it does not bring justice to the grieving families. The U.S. government subjects all refugees and Afghan allies to every layer of security vetting available—biometric, biographic, intelligence-community, DHS, DoD, FBI, and repeated, years-long continuous screening. A tragic, isolated act by an individual does not mean there was a systemic vetting breakdown or a flaw in the security processes that protect the United States. Conversely, welcoming people who have been persecuted serves critical national security interests, advances geopolitical stability, and bolsters democratic principles. We have a compelling national interest in ensuring efficient, fair, and robust processes that do not leave forcibly displaced populations trapped in hopeless circumstances.
Xenophobic rhetoric, bigotry, and discriminatory policies have no place in America. By every metric, newcomers enrich and benefit American communities and make our country stronger—economically, culturally, and spiritually—as small business owners, tax contributors, and job creators. We stand resolute in opposition to this harmful policy agenda that does nothing to support our communities. Hate must not beget hate, and violence must not beget violence.
We urge you to respond to what a strong majority of Americans want – a fair humanitarian and immigration program. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
See Attached for List of Signatories