Learn More

Decades of Congressional inaction, pitting of communities against each other, and political mudslinging have failed to produce any solutions that work for communities. The American public wants and deserves a balanced system that addresses security, ensures the safety of vulnerable people seeking protection, saves taxpayer dollars, and actually addresses the flaws in the existing system rather than exacerbating the issues.

For too long, the United States has embraced failed deterrence and punitive policies as a supposed solution to “secure the border,” but these policies only exacerbate disorder at the border and push people seeking safety into increasingly desperate circumstances. Treating humanitarian challenges as a security issue risks abandoning the United States’ decades-old international obligations to uphold the right to seek asylum and not send people back to harm. We have seen billions of taxpayer dollars invested in walls, militarism, private prison companies, and surveillance in border communities that don’t work to curb the chaos at the border or reduce the number of people arriving. Yet, politicians continue to complain that we need more of the same. Meanwhile, there are no safe alternative pathways to seek asylum in the United States, leaving many in desperate situations with no options. 

People do not have a legal option to apply for asylum from their country of origin, they can only do so on U.S. soil. Under U.S. law, people are guaranteed the right to seek asylum once they have arrived in the United States, regardless of how they entered. Many countries that asylum seekers regularly transit through do not offer safety or a functional asylum process. People fleeing for their lives cannot wait a single day more at home and risk persecution, torture, or death.

Our plan responds to changing migration patterns and global realities and reduces the strain on the asylum and border processing systems. Our plan creates additional humanitarian pathways that allow individuals to apply for permission to travel in advance, promotes a more robust regional processing framework, and builds a fair, streamlined, and resourced system for people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Asylum law is among the most complex parts of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and substantial regulatory action in recent years (since 2018 in particular) has led to a marked decrease in the stability of the asylum system. Our plan resolves some of these complexities by eliminating the routine use of regulations that can change the asylum system based on the views of the executive. Doing so will make adjudications more efficient and fair.

Communities throughout the United States are benefiting from the contributions of new immigrants and people seeking safety in many ways, including through economic, culture, and civic participation. Yet, these communities also face very real needs with assistance in planning for and accommodating these arrivals, and it shouldn’t just be a few cities welcoming high numbers of new arrivals. Our plan includes a variety of support mechanisms for communities in service planning and delivery, that help new arrivals and long-term community members, as well as establishing clear federal coordination to support localities.