A woman at a protest holds a handmade sign with the words "SI AL ASILO" and vibrant butterfly decorations. She smiles as she looks at the camera, wearing a purple headscarf and a pink floral shawl. Other demonstrators can be seen in the background, including one wearing a neon safety vest. Photo: Brooke Anderson Photography, 2019

Our Principles – Policies for Advancing Timely and Humane migration

The United States needs modernized and improved border and asylum systems that respond to contemporary immigration patterns and serve our nation’s values and interests. Previous border legislation has included blunt anti-asylum measures that may reduce border processing demands in the short-term, but immediately put lives in danger, bolster insecurity at the border, and fail to provide sustaining solutions to global migration challenges.

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SUPPORT SAFE PATH PRINCIPLES

Fund Border Processing Now

Congress should robustly fund border processing and asylum adjudications systems in sufficient amounts to relieve systemic backlogs and agency staffing deficits and modernize the systems and infrastructure to meet today’s needs.

Honor Refugee Commitments

The United States must comply with its obligations under the Refugee Convention by ensuring people seeking safety have territorial access to asylum and are not penalized for their manner of entry or transit. Asylum access should not be contingent on access to technology or an app.

Hire & Train with Empathy

Refugee and asylum processing is a humanitarian issue. U.S. government personnel who engage with people newly arrived at the border should be hired and trained to treat the issue as such and utilize a trauma-informed approach to their work.

Asylum Decisions, Not Delays

The asylum adjudication system should be fair and timely. People should undergo the system while living in the community with access to work permits and social support services as needed, not from detention. The Asylum Office within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should have jurisdiction to grant asylum claims at a non-adversarial interview; judicial review must be preserved for those whose claims are denied. Adjudications should be reached in an expeditious manner, but with sufficient time to ensure access to legal services and for case preparation.

Expand Lawful Paths to Entry

Congress must develop new manners of lawful entry to the United States that are commensurate with the factors driving global migration, including climate change, violence against women and girls, workforce needs, and the grave need for complementary protection for people fleeing extreme harm who do not meet the definition of a refugee for any reason including U.S. noncompliance with its obligations under the refugee convention, that will alleviate pressure on the southern border by giving migrants other options. Newly created visa pathways should ensure a pathway to citizenship for those who choose to access it.

Support Communities Helping Immigrants

Congress must robustly fund and support states, localities and non-governmental organizations at the border and throughout the United States providing respite, shelter, housing, legal services, and other social support for newly arrived immigrants.

A silhouetted group of men, women, and children walk across a rural landscape under a golden sky, carrying bags and backpacks. The sun sets or rises behind them, emphasizing their movement.

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