Trump Must End the Shutdown He Created

January 19, 2019

For Immediate Release
Contact: Shin Inouye, 202.869.0398, [email protected]

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on President Trump’s remarks today:

“Trump continued with his lies, stoking fear and pushing misinformation. He created this shutdown, and every day it continues, federal workers, contractors, their families, and their communities are left unpaid and are being harmed. Key civil rights enforcement actions are being ignored. Trump has the power to end these crises of his own making. He and Leader McConnell have no further excuses for blocking bipartisan bills that passed the Senate last month and the House this month to end this shutdown.

“We are deeply skeptical of Trump’s so-called offer on Dreamers and TPS holders, as those too are crises of his own making. Nothing he announced today is a compromise or a deal, as evidenced by his lack of discussions with any leaders outside his own party. We also need to see if he changes his mind as he did a year ago when he told legislators to pass a ‘bill of love’ on immigration, but then proceeded to attack Dreamers, refugees, and TPS holders – and ripped children from the arms of their parents.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.