28 FEB 2023

Prominent Latino, Civil Rights, Faith and Pro-Immigrant Groups Detail 2023 Immigration Priorities for President Biden Halfway Through Presidency

2023 Blueprint Recommends Actions for the Biden Administration to Take to Fulfill Promises for a Fair And Humane Immigration System

Read the Full Report HERE

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, 40 prominent Latino, civil rights, faith and pro-immigrant groups, including the NAACP, UnidosUS, Voto Latino, Human Rights First, Asian American Justice Center, Church World Service, and the Immigration Hub, released a blueprint for the Biden-Harris administration, outlining five core priorities to improve the nation’s immigration system. 

In the first two years of his presidency, President Biden took a number of actions to undo the chaos of the Trump years by rolling back cruel and inhumane immigration policies and putting in place new ones aimed at expanding fairness, workability and opportunity. Additionally, Vice President  Harris has led comprehensive and unprecedented work to address the root causes of forced migration in Central America. However, this report is being released as the Biden administration is moving forward with failed Trump-era programs like an “asylum ban” that undermines the right to asylum and puts migrants in harm's way.   

Just this week, The New York Times reported on child migrant exploitation, illustrating the need for more welcoming asylum policies that allow children to travel with their parents and seek protection in the U.S. Taking a positive step, the administration responded with critical actions to better protect migrant children, including increased follow-up and social services for children.  

The Biden administration is now at a crossroads as to whether it will press forward with the President’s commitment to build a more fair, humane and functional immigration system or bend to pressure by an extremist GOP and turn its back on immigrants and America’s long standing values embodied by the torch of liberty that still sits in New York harbor. The Biden administration should focus on the solutions put forward in this blueprint that keep families together, restore America’s asylum system, strengthen the economy, and root out discrimination from the immigration system. 

All indications are that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will oppose any effort at reforming the nation’s immigration system. This includes providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, even though 80% of Americans support legalization. With a short window of opportunity before the 2024 elections and with a divided Congress, President Biden can and should use every tool to protect immigrants who have contributed to the U.S. for many years. These steps should include expanding Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), reducing green card backlogs and implementing innovative policy adjustments that would allow Dreamers, farmworkers, TPS holders and other longtime residents to remain in the U.S. and continue contributing to the country they now call home.

“In recent days, we have seen the devastating consequences of flawed immigration policies that fail to center families and America’s most cherished values – hard work and pursuit of freedom, safety and opportunity. Policies that divide us, separate families, exacerbate dangerous conditions and jeopardize the lives of children have no place in our country. The Biden-Harris administration has an opportunity to move forward with policies that allow immigrant families and workers to thrive and step out of the shadows. While Congress should be stepping up to work on long overdue bipartisan immigration reform legislation, Republicans would rather play political games than solve the policy challenge. Despite Republican obstruction, it’s clear the public wants their government to lean into tough challenges with decisive action. That’s why we urge the President and his team to use every tool available to fix and modernize our immigration system, continue to welcome newcomers as new Americans, and legalize and finally recognize long-term residents like DACA recipients as the Americans they are. Immigrants are assets not threats, and paths to permanence and protection not only reflect our ideals, they serve our interests,” said Sergio Gonzales, the Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. 

The 2023 Immigration Priorities: A Blueprint for the Biden-Harris Administration is endorsed by 40 groups, including Adhikaar, African Communities Together, America’s Voice, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Cameroon Advocacy Network, Central American Resource Center, Central American Resource Center of Northern CA, Church World Service, Congolese Community of Washington Metropolitan, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd U.S. Provinces, Dorothy Day Catholic Workers of Washington DC, Franciscan Action Network, Global Social Work LLC, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Hispanic Federation, Human Rights First, Immigration Hub, International Refugee Assistance Program, Latino Memphis, Latino Policy Forum, Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, Michigan Immigrants Rights Center, Mi Familia Vota, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc.,National Advocacy Center of the Sister of the Good Shepherd, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigration Project, National Network for Arab American Communities, National Partnership for New Americans, People’s Action, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Save the Children, the Campaign for Hong Kong, UndocuBlack Network, UnidosUS, Voto Latino, and Witness at the Border, and United We Dream. The report highlights five core immigration policy areas where the administration should take action this year:

Protection and Relief to Keep Immigrant Families Together:

  • Designate and/or redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for countries such as the Bahamas, Burkina Faso, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Venezuela. 

  • Take all the necessary steps, including considering process reforms, to provide relief to longtime residents, like DACA recipients by allowing them to apply for non-LPR cancellation of removal relief without first being placed in removal proceedings.

  • Provide guidance to individuals applying for non-immigrant visas to allow DACA holders and other long-term residents to leave the U.S. and apply for a visa without fear of being permanently barred from the U.S. 

  • Reduce green card backlogs. 

  • Exercise prosecutorial discretion and enforcement prioritization to ensure individuals with meaningful ties to the US are protected from deportation.

  • Accelerate efforts to review the detention system and to discontinue unhealthy and unsafe facilities.

Routing Out Discrimination and Anti-Blackness in the Immigration System: 

  • Reject discriminatory treatment of Haitians seeking protection and family reunification and utilize parole to extend necessary protections.

  • Ensure accountability for abuses against Haitian asylum seekers in Del Rio.

  • End abuse of Black immigrants in detention while investigating racial discrimination and taking steps to protect Black lives.

  • Protect and support an increase to the diversity visa program, recapture 40,000 unused diversity visas, and withdraw the DOJ’s appeal of Gomez v. Biden. 

Rebuilding the U.S. Economy and Promoting Safe and Orderly Migration Pathways: 

  • Create a Central American Family Reunification Parole Program to promote family unity. 

  • Process immigrant visas up to the categorical limits on family-based, employment-based, and diversity visas in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

  • Hasten efforts to reduce naturalization and immigration backlogs by streamlining the adjudication process and terminating all policies and practices not required by law.

Restoring the Asylum and Refugee System, Ensuring Humane Treatment and Protection at the Border: 

  • Restore access to asylum and other forms of international protection at the border, including by not issuing a new asylum ban, not restarting Remain in Mexico and not instituting other measures to undercut asylum protections, such as the expansion of Title 42. 

  • Continue to rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). 

  • Continue implementing a comprehensive approach to border management, which includes restoring fairness and efficiency to the asylum system, expanding legal migration channels, addressing migration root causes, increased coordination and funding with local communities and civil society groups receiving refugees, and cracking down on human smugglers and cartels.

Deepening Collaborative Hemispheric Migration Management, Including on Climate Migration and by Promoting Regional Cooperation: 

  • Implement all of the commitments included in the Los Angeles Declaration, ensure the safety and humanity of climate-displaced people and support the adaptation and resilience of people affected by both slow-onset and sudden-onset climate disasters.

Read the full report here.

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.