Facing a Crisis, Seeking a Humane Solution: Immigration Justice Now

The Problem:

The U.S. Immigration system is badly broken. With no holistic reforms since 1996, it fails to keep up with or address a changing economy and society, and does not meet this country’s need for population growth, reunification of families, and workers–areas which flows of immigrants have historically provided. The system fails to handle the volume of undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, separated families, and those with employment-based preferences or Temporary Protected Status currently here or seeking to come here.

The immigration debate is hopelessly politicized with  real progress stymied because of   inhumane partisan wrangling, false narratives and vilification of immigrants. For too long the focus has been — not to welcome and assist potential new Americans to integrate and find self-sufficiency in this country, and to invest in compassionate community-based alternatives– but rather to keep immigrants out, through halted and ineffective processing of applications; and explosive, punitive enforcement budgets for border walls, abusive border patrols, ICE detention centers and employment raids. 

What is Needed and Long Overdue

Congress needs to support immigration justice, welcome and invest in immigrants, and end immigration punishment by reintroducing and passing comprehensive immigration reform.

Call for Action

1. We need to open a way to citizenship and full dignity and rights for…

  • Undocumented workers who have lived here and raised children in our communities for decades and annually contribute $79.7 billion in Federal taxes, not including local and state taxes;
  • Individuals brought here as children (DACA);
  • Evacuated Afghans, over 77,000, admitted as Humanitarian Parolees;
  • Foreign nationals here with Temporary Protected Status

2. We need to fund staffing and streamline processes to address the current backlog of millions of pending applications for visas from those…

  • Seeking asylum
  • Waiting for green card work authorization
  • Needing family reunification
  • Eligible for special high skill preferred employment or seasonal agricultural work.

3. It is time to defund hate, cut the bloated 8-billion-dollar budget of ICE and Border patrol, who…

  • Are punitive immigration enforcement agencies with a track record of abuse
  • Detain immigrants in for-profit substandard detention centers
  • Are poorly monitored and enjoy (2022) an $ 8 billion dollars budget, funded at a level 34% higher than that of ALL other principal federal criminal law enforcement agencies combined, and 11 times greater than spending to enforce labor standards

How

Vote for Senators and Representatives committed to revive and make into law the key provisions of President Biden’s US Citizenship Act of 2021 ( HR 1/S386 117), the currently pending Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment Act, and the Afghan Adjustment Act (S4757/HR8685).