Immigration has been all over the news lately, and a lot of people are wondering why. Fixing our broken immigration system is an issue I care deeply about – so I figured I would explain directly.
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere can’t be ignored. Asylum seekers fleeing desperate conditions and violence are coming to our border looking for safety, work, and family.
But instead of working with Democrats to help asylum seekers, and to ensure our system is orderly, legal, and humane, Republican officials have used this humanitarian crisis to fearmonger — all to score political points against President Biden.
Instead of recognizing the humanity of families and children seeking asylum in our country, these top Republicans choose to incite hate and use words like “invasion.” In Texas, Greg Abbott has used the crisis to attack immigrants and border communities. He signed blatantly unconstitutional “show me your papers” legislation, weaponized state law enforcement to terrorize border communities, and wasted BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars on his failed “Operation Lone Star.”
What happened to, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”?
In Washington, Republicans are demanding sweeping policy changes to remake our immigration system in Donald Trump’s image. Reforming our broken immigration system should be a top priority, but Trump-era policy like separating families and ending asylum is not right, and it does not work to solve the problem. In fact, such policies only empower criminal organizations, endanger migrant families, and create disorder.
Here’s the truth: Republican officials want our immigration system to be broken. Instead of adding more immigration judges and administrative staff, or setting up safe, orderly pathways to migration, they would rather stoke fear and make the situation worse.
What Republican officials have floated wouldn’t even improve conditions at the border. Policies like Title 42, Remain in Mexico, mandatory detention, and mass deportations won’t fix the underlying problems. In fact, they’ll make them much, much more chaotic and dysfunctional. We know this because they’ve been tried before. It’s just more soundbites for FOX News.
We cannot allow immigrants to be the scapegoat in right wing legislators’ political games. We cannot abandon our nation’s long commitment to asylum. And we cannot pass legislation that would empower a future Trump presidency with unlimited power to inflict harm on immigrants and asylum seekers.
Immigrants make our country better. That’s always been and will always be true. All families deserve to live dignified lives free from fear of being separated, deported, or discriminated against.
You can rest assured that I’ll keep fighting for real immigration reform that lives up to our nation’s values. If you want to support Team Casar in that fight, consider chipping in here to support our work.
Thank you,
-Greg
Greg Casar
Congressman
Texas Congressional District 35
No comments:
Post a Comment