Dear Mr. President,
As the founder of the Truth And Accountability League (TAAL), a human rights and anti-defamation non-profit organization advocating for Armenian-Americans, I ask that your administration review the 2,808 Armenians on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) list.
Majority of the Armenians are refugees from the Artsakh Genocide (2020-2023) and have not committed any crimes. Their ancestral land of millennia, their home, and everything they’ve known was invaded, occupied, and destroyed. They became refugees as a result of a modern-era ethnic cleansing in 2023 after being subjected to war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2020 and months-long famine to force a perilous migration out of their ancestral lands.
A reminder that Azerbaijan, with help from Turkiye, Russia, and Israel invaded the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) under your watch. Secretary Pompeo lifted Section 907 of the Freedom Act and gave Azerbaijan a $100 million security and military aid package months before Aliyev’s authoritarian regime invaded Artsakh.
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Congressman Issa’s letter to you describes, with painful accuracy, the suffering and the predicament that Artsakh Armenians find themselves in, ‘I am deeply concerned by these statements at a time when your administration has clearly made it the policy of the United States to seek peace in the world. As your administration develops a robust Caucasus policy, in the interim, the United States should deter additional actions by Azerbaijan against Armenia by making clear that we are willing to use a wide array of instruments, including sanctions.’
A member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, Rep. Issa previously sent questions directly to the Biden Administration regarding serious policy lapses that led to instability and violence in the region. Specifically, Rep. Issa asked the Biden State Department: ‘Given the despotic nature of the Aliyev regime, what is the Administration doing to ensure Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have a right to return to their homes and live safely and freely without fear, oppression, and human rights violations by the government of Azerbaijan?
In his letter to you, Congressman Issa added: ‘Unfortunately, the State Department under the Biden-Harris Administration was effectively pushing Armenia to make further concessions to meet Azerbaijan’s growing list of preconditions for signing a peace treaty. Armenia and its people have suffered significantly at the hands of Azerbaijan, with some of Armenia’s internationally recognized territory under Azerbaijan’s occupation and 120,000 Armenians being forced to leave their ancestral homes in Nagorno-Karabakh and elsewhere. Armenia should not be expected to make any further concessions.’
Our government has an obligation under international law to ensure that its laws, policies, and practices do not place migrants and people seeking safety at an increased risk of human rights abuses. While the US, like all countries, has the power to regulate the entry and stay of non-nationals in its territory, it can only do so within the limits of its human rights obligations.
A mass deportation campaign violates multiple rights, including protection against return to a country where people are at real risk of torture and other serious human rights harms (refoulement); the right to seek asylum; freedom from arbitrary detention; due process; family unity and children’s rights; and non-discrimination. It also tears apart communities, families, and the economy.
The United States has the resources and capacity to protect people fleeing persecution, not just Armenians, but many people with similar situations. The world turned a blind eye when Artsakh Armenians were subjected to crimes against humanity for three years. Don’t we owe it to them to end their suffering and integrate them into American society? Our nation’s greatness is a testament to the dedication and patriotism of those who found safety and refuge in America by escaping war crimes and persecution in their own countries. Should we not stay true to this noble American legacy by extending the same opportunity to the Artsakh Armenian victims of ethnic cleansing, violence and massacres? I hope that after careful consideration, you will consider the case of Armenians and stop their deportation. I, and TAAL, are happy to assist your team with questions and information.
I appreciate your time and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Vic Gerami
Founder and Chair
TruthAndAccountabilityLeague.org
About TAAL
TAAL is a 501©3 non-profit advocacy organization founded in 2020 due to a significant increase in anti-Armenian racism, defamation, hate crimes, and Armenophobia. We monitor and confront bias, disinformation, propaganda, and slander of the Armenian people and culture at the media level, including social media, academics, intelligentsia, and public policy.
