Amnesty International USA calls for halt on Chad Wolf nomination
Source: The Hill
BY CELINE CASTRONUOVO - 09/23/20 11:45 AM EDT 4
Human rights advocacy group Amnesty International USA on Wednesday called for a halt to the nomination hearings for acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, citing “serious human rights violations.”
The U.S. section of the international nonprofit called the announcement “rare” for the organization, saying in a press release that the group “takes no position on the appointment of particular individuals to government positions, unless they are reasonably suspected of crimes under international law and could use their appointment to the position in question to either prevent accountability for these crimes or to continue their perpetration.”
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In its press release, Amnesty International USA cited internal emails showing Wolf’s involvement in implementing the Trump administration’s 2018 “zero tolerance” policy that allowed it to separate immigrant families and prosecute anyone who crossed the U.S. border illegally.
“Amnesty International has documented how mass separations of families seeking safety constituted ill-treatment, and in some cases, torture, irreversibly harming thousands of parents and children,” the nonprofit said in the statement. “Wolf was directly involved in the decision-making process that led the administration to implement family separation to deter people from seeking safety.”
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/517792-amnesty-international-usa-calls-for-halt-on-chad-wolf-nomination