Immigration organizations called out President Joe Biden for his exclusion of illegal migrants in his pardon for federal offenses of simple marijuana possession.
“This pardon does not apply to individuals who were non-citizens not lawfully present in the United States at the time of their offense,” Biden’s memorandum on the plan stated.
“Once again this choice continues to criminalize immigrants, excluding us from what we know is right for all,” Anti-deportation group United We Dream wrote on Twitter Wednesday. (RELATED: Biden Supports Federal Decriminalization Of Marijuana And Legalization Of Medical Use, Psaki Says)
The Immigrant Defense Project said the decision to “explicitly” exclude illegal migrants from the pardons is “thanks to our punitive immigration laws.”
Marijuana prohibition has harmed communities for too long and this is ONE step in addressing those harms. But undocumented immigrants are explicitly written out of this pardon & might still be detained/deported because of simple possession, thanks to our punitive immigration laws https://t.co/ErBKaNn2Bo
— Immigrant Defense Project (@ImmDefense) October 6, 2022
“While we are glad to see President Biden taking concrete steps to address some of these consequences, we are grimly disappointed that it does not extend to immigrants who were undocumented and urge him to ensure that all immigrants are included in the pardon process,” the National Immigration Project wrote in a statement.
While the pardon excludes illegal migrants, it does benefit those who were lawful permanent residents at the time of their offense.
“As I’ve said before, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden wrote of his decision.
The White House didn’t respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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