Advocacy groups are calling on Biden to extend marijuana pardons to these vulnerable communities

Proponents are calling for an expansion of Biden’s pardon for marijuana, particularly one that includes immigrants deported for these types of offenses.

Biden’s pardon affects nearly 6,500 Americans. However, these pardons apply only to residents and citizens of the United States.

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ABC News reports that over 130 advocacy groups plan to collaborate on a letter to Biden urging him to expand pardons to include fugitives, asylum seekers and visa holders with marijuana convictions.

“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​“ says a draft of the letter. “In particular, we urge you to extend protections to all immigrants, regardless of immigration status, and to take the necessary steps to ensure immigrants do not suffer negative immigration consequences as a result of marijuana convictions.”

According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, between 2003 and 2020, over 48,000 immigrants were deported for marijuana possession.

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When asked for comment, the White House replied: “The president’s full, unconditional pardon is the first categorical pardon in 45 years and will bring relief to thousands of Americans, disproportionately black and brown, who are unjustly excluded from housing, employment and benefits,” said Deputy Press Secretary Kevin Munoz.

He did not address the issue of immigrants directly.

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New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke about Biden’s pardon and shared her objections to the exclusion of undocumented people. “And even recently with President Biden’s marijuana executive order, I applauded him very much that he went there, but he exempted people when they were convicted without papers,” she said.

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“That’s 90%. We consider the overwhelming majority of convicts who would benefit from this pardon, they have status issues,” AOC said. “We really need to step up, both in our campaign efforts and in our governance efforts.”