As part of the National Immigration Forum, we’ve been advocating for smarter, safer, and more compassionate immigration policies for more than 40 years.
American voters want real solutions, but Democratic and Republican leaders are getting caught up in rhetoric that doesn’t reflect our reality. We know there’s a better way forward.
An immigration system that benefits all of us is one that embraces American values: Secure border policies that show strength through compassion. Legal immigration pathways that help protect American jobs by filling crucial gaps in the labor force. Interior enforcement practices that ensure all community members feel safe cooperating with local law enforcement.
America can build an immigration system that champions both security and dignity. Here’s how:
Show compassion and justice to longtime residents, including Dreamers, by allowing them an opportunity to earn lawful status and citizenship. Undocumented immigrants who have built a life in the U.S. – many who were brought to the U.S. as children – make vital contributions to our economy and communities every day. Creating a pathway for these residents to earn lawful status would provide millions of immigrants with the security and stability they need to fully realize – and contribute to – the American Dream.
Continue our moral leadership in the world as a welcoming and compassionate nation that offers refuge to the persecuted. Our nation’s founders envisioned America as a beacon of freedom for all – and that principle has continued throughout our history. Welcoming refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence and precarity not only upholds the principles that make America exceptional, but makes our communities more vibrant, innovative, and prosperous.
Honor the human dignity of all people through our words and actions. We’re the strongest nation in the world – we can prioritize national security while upholding dignity for all. Undermining the humanity of immigrants through extremist policies and harmful rhetoric sows division, spreads misinformation, and moves us further away from real dialogue and solutions. The policy and rhetoric of our leaders should set an example for the rest of the world: Secure, efficient, and humane immigration policies are not just possible, they’re a necessity.
Address the need for safety and security on the border and in our communities. Promote community trust and safety by focusing immigration enforcement on threats to public safety and national security and preserving federal leadership in setting immigration enforcement policy. Immigration enforcement is the responsibility of federal authorities. Local law enforcement should have the freedom to focus their limited resources on real threats to our communities, rather than taking on additional immigration enforcement burdens. When community members feel safe cooperating with local police regardless of immigration status, all of us are safer.
Enable fair and orderly legal immigration that continues to solidify our global economic leadership. Modernize laws to reduce backlogs and improve work visa programs for current and future workers. Our current employment visa process is lengthy, complex, and expensive. The unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles imposed on much-needed workers detracts from our global competitiveness, actively hurts our economy, and disincentivizes legal immigration. We need a holistic approach to legal immigration that streamlines the work visa process that not only meets today’s workforce needs, but is agile enough to compete in a dynamic global economy for decades to come.
Defend the longstanding constitutional principle of birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is fundamental to our understanding of what it means to be an American, and our nation is stronger because of it. From inventors and statesmen to small business owners and essential workers, first-generation Americans always have, and always will, make America great. Ending birthright citizenship wouldn’t just be logistically impractical, it would undermine the fundamental principles and future prosperity of our country.
