10 MAR 2023
RELEASE: U.S Senator Alex Padilla, Immigration Advocates and Latino Leaders Urge Biden Administration to Reject Failed Policies of the Past and Embrace Solutions to Protect Immigrants
For the full recording of the call, click here.
WASHINGTON D.C — Earlier today, the Immigration Hub hosted a press call featuring U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, as well as Voto Latino, United We Dream, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Save the Children, Mi Familia Vota. The speakers called upon the Biden Administration to keep its commitment to creating a fair and humane immigration system, to step back from failed policies of the past such as severe restrictions on asylum and family detention, and to move forward with executive actions to improve our immigration system and protect immigrants who have long contributed to the U.S.
The groups lifted up the recently-released 2023 Immigration Priorities: A Blueprint for the Biden-Harris Administration, a blueprint endorsed by 40 prominent Latino, civil rights, faith and pro-immigrant groups. In recognition that Republicans in Congress seem uninterested in working on bipartisan immigration reform, a coalition of leaders are urging the Biden administration to use every tool in its toolbox to improve our immigration system. These measures include innovative strategies to protect Dreamers, TPS holders and other long-term residents in America. With a short window before the 2024 elections and a divided Congress, it’s time for the White House to use every ounce of its authority to protect the largest number of individuals possible.
“The Biden administration is at an inflection point. They can revert to the failed paradigm and policies of the Trump era, or move forward – as promised – with fair, functional and humane policies. We urge the administration to stay true to its commitments. We can manage the challenges of forced migration in the Americas and move forward to protect long-term immigrants, like Dreamers living and working in our nation. We can respond to the challenges at the southern border without gutting asylum or reviving family detention. And we can move forward with executive actions to improve our outdated immigration system since the GOP is more interested in playing partisan politics than in enacting bipartisan immigration reform. The overwhelming majority of Americans want their leaders to take action to protect immigrants and we are urging the administration to step up to this call to action,” said Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of Immigration Hub.
“Reinstating family detention would be a grave mistake. Instead of reversing course to a costly and failed Trump-era policy that traumatized families and children, we must focus on building a safe and humane immigration system that moves our country forward,” said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. “That means creating more lawful pathways to the U.S. and fixing the visa backlogs that deny our economy the workforce it needs, creating a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who are part of the fabric of our nation, and ensuring due process for asylum seekers at our border.”
"President Biden inherited a disastrous immigration system after the destruction of his predecessor, and he's taken real strides towards undoing that damage. But there's still more to do. He needs to decide whether or not he’ll continue that progress by ending Donand Trump’s malicious border policies and following through on his commitments to protect the 11 million undocumented immigrants already contributing to the success of our country.” said Kenny Sandoval, Vice President of Campaigns and Partnerships of Voto Latino and Moderator of today’s call.
"The forces working against immigrants are not shy about their goals: they want to end asylum, they want to separate families, they want to send economies that rely on immigrants into a tailspin,” said Bruna Sollod, Senior Communications and Political Director of United We Dream. “We need President Biden to reject MAGA policies, not support them. The Biden administration must make their values clear with actions by ensuring families can seek asylum without being detained, protecting programs that keep families together, and creating and expanding pathways to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented people."
“Save the Children urges the Biden administration to ensure that the best interests of children are at the forefront of any immigration policy decisions, and to move away from punitive measures meant to deter asylum seekers from seeking safety in the U.S – such as family detention, which has been shown to cause lasting harm and trauma to children. Children migrating to the U.S. have been exposed to inconceivable violence and trauma. Any detainment heightens their risk for retraumatization and harm. We must do better for children,” said Barbara Ammirati, Save the Children’s Senior Advisor for Child Protection. “As a leading child protection organization, we welcome the opportunity to work with the administration to craft programs that are responsive to the needs of children, instead of inflicting additional harm.”
“Immigration reform is popular with progressives, independents, and, yes, conservative voters. There is strong support for creating an orderly process for pro-immigrant policies. Latinos delivered Nevada and Arizona, we helped in Georgia and Pennsylvania, and Democrats would not have kept the Senate majority without our vote. We cannot wait anymore. We have delivered over and over, and immigrants kept our country going during the pandemic; everyone in the nation benefits from the daily contributions of immigrants. To reach voters like those that Mi Familia Vota works with every day, President Biden and Democrats have an opportunity to both do what is right and politically popular by fixing our broken immigration system. It’s time to deliver on their promises on immigration,” said Hector Sanchez, Executive Director and CEO of Mi Familia Vota.
###
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.