On the Issues

Immigration and the American Dream

Like many before me and many since, I came to this nation as an immigrant in search of opportunity, education, and a better future. The fact that people from all over the world want to immigrate here is a strength, not a weakness. Immigrants make this nation stronger, improve our culture, and benefit our economy.

However, our current immigration system fails to provide those who wish to immigrate here legally with a timely and clear process. And, once here, we fail to provide immigrants with adequate services to easily acclimate to American society. These policy failures lead to increased violation of our immigration laws and long delays before new immigrants can start working, building a life, and contributing to society.

Cities around the nation are currently dealing with the effects of decades of inaction and policy failures around immigration. This increase in immigration throughout the nation has led some to turn against immigration in general. However, immigration is a crucial strength of the nation, and rather than turning on immigration in general, we must turn against our current broken immigration system. Stronger border enforcement must be tied to an expansion of legal immigration and funding for the systems that facilitate that expansion.

I support:

  • A substantial increase in funding for immigration courts. There are more than three million cases currently pending in the immigration courts, and nowhere near enough resources to handle this caseload.
  • Creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the United States, prioritizing those who’ve been living in the country the longest and have been law-abiding during their time here.
  • Modernizing and streamlining the immigration application process, including bringing clarity to the asylum process.
  • Provides humane services and resources to the children of immigrants, regardless of their legal status.
  • Providing increased funding and services to cities that are receiving an unprecedented number of immigrants.
  • Closes immigration facilities that do not meet humanitarian standards set by the American Bar Association and ends partnerships with for-profit detention centers.
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