4 DEC 2023
ICYMI: Immigration Hub’s Beatriz Lopez Publishes Op-Ed on “The Republican Wrecking Ball Aimed at America’s Asylum System”
Beatriz Lopez: “Why does it seem Republicans hold the upper hand on immigration, and why do Democrats feel the need to play ball with their drastic demands in exchange for foreign aid to Ukraine?”
WASHINGTON — Today, Immigration Hub Deputy Director Beatriz Lopez published an opinion piece in The Messenger detailing the egregious, Trump-like immigration policies being demanded by GOP Senators in exchange for Ukraine funding. The proposals, if enacted, would essentially eliminate access to asylum and parole, violate international refugee laws and leave vulnerable children and families in harm’s way.
Beatriz draws a clear line between GOP demands and the “the Trump-Miller handbook” on immigration, revealing how the right-wing media ecosystem surgically exacerbates anti-immigrant fears and distorts public opinion–which overwhelmingly favors humane, orderly processes at the border and legal pathways for long-settled immigrants–in order to block meaningful reform. Beatriz calls on Democrats to reject the GOP’s ransom demands and lean into pro-immigrant, values-based solutions, urging Congress to advance fixes that resource the immigration system–not eleventh-hour policies that destroy it.
In case you missed it…
The Messenger: “The Republican Wrecking Ball Aimed at America’s Asylum System”
“Republican senators appear to be taking a page from the Trump-Miller handbook and pushing for an asylum ban, barriers that would make it nearly impossible to apply for asylum, as well as measures that would block humanitarian and other forms of parole. These are not small edits to existing law — they would essentially take a wrecking ball to our asylum system and create absolute chaos at the border and across neighboring countries while jeopardizing children and families seeking safety. Despite the supposed bipartisan nature of this Senate plan, no Democrat should be entertaining this deal.”
“The proposal would not do anything to better manage migration, add capacity to process asylum claims, address the termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections for DACA " Dreamers," or stop some Republican governors from busing and using migrants as pawns against Democrats.”
“Since 2016, Republicans have shown that they will use immigration and the border as a means to attack Democrats — not on substance, but by employing boogie-men imagery and racially-charged tropes. In 2022, an AdImpact analysis commissioned by my organization, the Immigration Hub, showed the GOP and right-wing groups spent over $171 million on anti-immigrant TV ads across 10 battleground states. They spent millions more on digital and other paid communications. Miller’s conservative nonprofit group Citizens for Sanity spent $32 million on digital ads, most of which centered on migrant “invasions” and elevating concepts that appear grounded in the Great Replacement Theory.”
“Using the analytic media tool Critical Mentions, the Immigration Hub also found that in the first two years of the Biden administration, mainstream media outlets — such as The New York Times and the Washington Post — generated over 51,000 mentions of the “southern border” while right-wing media covered the border over 159,000 times.”
“Our asylum system needs to be resourced — not destroyed. Immigration officers should be able to focus on public safety and national threats — not separating families. Our immigration system should be fixed — not burdened, and it should be done in a comprehensive, bipartisan legislative manner.”
“Until then, Democrats should lean in on their values on immigration — because the American public is with them. Republicans will try to paint them as “open border” Democrats no matter what Democrats do. So, they should do the right thing — it’ll pay off now and in the long run, because the contrast with the leading presidential candidate and his party, who say they want to destroy our immigration and asylum systems, is one which Democrats will win every time.”
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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.