Planned Parenthood Action Fund: Seeking Asylum is About Health Care and Safety, Not Political Partisanship

Washington, DC — With the midterm elections barely a week away and races around the country heating up, President Trump continues to try to use a group of Central American asylum seekers as part of an orchestrated campaign to fuel fear of immigrants and activate his baseahead of the November 6 midterm elections.

Statement from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

The group of asylum seekers, which includes many women and children, is still hundreds of miles away from reaching the US–Mexico border. Thousands of people embarked on a dangerous, 2,000-mile journey risking their lives in search of access to opportunities and safety for their families, but that hasn’t stopped the Trump-Pence administration from demonizing immigrants and stoking racial fears among his base for cheap political gains.

“Deploying active-duty military to the border is a cheap political stunt that nonetheless exposes the radical and nationalist agenda of this administration. We will continue to stand with all immigrants in their quest for a better life and to fight alongside our partners to ensure families are treated humanely and with the respect they deserve. We will not sit by silently while this administration uses immigrants’ health and lives as a means to advance Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.  We must make that known on November 6.

We know that Planned Parenthood health centers are proud to see patients regardless of their immigration status. And we will continue to stand with immigrant communities and be a vocal advocate alongside our immigration partners in the fight to end these atrocities.

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