A Humane & Just Immigration Framework
Immigration policy must be grounded in the recognition that the vast majority of people who come to America, whether through legal channels or out of desperation, are human beings seeking safety, opportunity, and a better life for their families. They are not invaders. They are not criminals. They are people, and they deserve to be treated as such regardless of their legal status. At the same time, a functioning democracy requires a functioning immigration system: one with clear rules, fair processes, and consistent enforcement that respects both the law and human dignity. [602]
How We Do It
- Establish a comprehensive immigration reform framework developed through genuine bipartisan cooperation, input from affected communities, and grounded in both security requirements and humanitarian obligations. [603]
- Ensure that all immigration policies and enforcement actions comply with domestic and international law, including the 1951 Refugee Convention and its protocols, which the United States helped draft and is obligated to uphold. [604]
Border Security
Secure borders are a legitimate and necessary component of national sovereignty. Border security and humanitarian treatment are not mutually exclusive; it is entirely possible to maintain effective border security while treating every individual encountered at the border with dignity and in accordance with the law. The militarization of the border and the deliberate use of cruelty as a deterrent are not security strategies; they are moral failures that have not demonstrably reduced unauthorized immigration while causing immeasurable human suffering. [605]
How We Do It
- Invest in smart, technology-driven border security that maximizes effectiveness while minimizing the need for large-scale physical infrastructure. This includes advanced surveillance technology, sensor networks, and data-driven deployment of border personnel. [606]
- Increase funding for ports of entry, the primary point of entry for both unauthorized immigrants and the vast majority of drug smuggling, ensuring adequate staffing, technology, and processing capacity. [607]
- Address the root causes of migration from Central America and other source regions through targeted foreign aid, diplomatic engagement, and support for good governance, economic development, and security in sending countries. Stopping migration at the source is more effective and more humane than stopping it at the border. [608]
- End the use of cruelty, including family separation, inhumane detention conditions, and illegal pushbacks, as immigration deterrence. These practices violate American law, international obligations, and basic human decency, and have been demonstrated to be ineffective as deterrents. [609]
Asylum & Refugee Protection
The right to seek asylum is enshrined in international law and American statute. People fleeing persecution, violence, and life-threatening conditions have a legal right to present themselves at the border and request protection. Denying that right, criminalizing asylum seekers, or using procedural barriers to make asylum effectively inaccessible are violations of both the law and America's most fundamental values. [610]
How We Do It
- Restore and strengthen the asylum system, ensuring that all individuals who present themselves at the border have a fair and timely opportunity to have their claims heard by qualified immigration judges. [611]
- Dramatically increase the number of immigration judges and support staff to eliminate the massive backlog of asylum cases that currently leaves applicants waiting years for resolution, often in legal limbo and without the ability to work legally. [612]
- Increase the annual refugee admissions ceiling to levels commensurate with global refugee needs and America's historical commitment to refugee protection. [613]
Pathways to Legal Status
Millions of people live and work in the United States without legal status, contributing to their communities, paying taxes, raising American-born children, and building lives over decades. The existence of this large undocumented population is not primarily the result of individual lawbreaking; it is the result of a legal immigration system so broken, so backlogged, and so inadequate to the actual demand for immigration that millions of people have had no viable legal pathway available to them. Addressing this reality requires both enforcement and compassion. [614]
How We Do It
- Provide a permanent legislative solution for DACA recipients and Dreamers, individuals who were brought to this country as children and have grown up as Americans in every meaningful sense. These individuals deserve a clear and accessible pathway to permanent legal status and citizenship. [615]
- Establish a pathway to legal status for undocumented individuals who have lived in the United States for a significant period, have no serious criminal history, and have demonstrated ties to their communities. This is not amnesty; it is a practical and humane recognition of reality. [616]
- Restore and strengthen family reunification as a cornerstone of legal immigration policy, and comprehensively review and reform the visa system to ensure that it is responsive to actual immigration needs and reduces bureaucratic barriers to legal immigration. [617]
Birthright Citizenship & the Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is unambiguous: all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States. Birthright citizenship is not a policy choice. It is a constitutional right that has been recognized by every court to consider the question and affirmed by more than 150 years of legal precedent. Attempts to end birthright citizenship by executive order are not merely unconstitutional; they represent a direct assault on the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified specifically to ensure that the government could never again create a class of people born on American soil who are denied the rights of citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment was written with that history in mind, and any attempt to circumvent it must be recognized and treated as the constitutional crisis that it is. [618]
How We Do It
- Pass federal legislation explicitly affirming the birthright citizenship guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment, codifying in statute what the Constitution already requires, and establishing that no executive order, regulation, or agency guidance may be used to deny citizenship to any person born on American soil. Establish expedited judicial review procedures for any executive action that purports to limit or condition birthright citizenship, with automatic injunctive relief pending final judicial resolution. [619]
Due Process in Immigration Enforcement & Limits on Military Deployment
Immigration enforcement that bypasses due process, deports American citizens and legal permanent residents, and uses military resources for domestic law enforcement is not merely a policy disagreement. It is a constitutional crisis. The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. The deportation of people to third countries without legal process, the detention of American citizens in immigration facilities, and the deployment of military units to participate in immigration enforcement operations are not aggressive immigration enforcement. They are violations of constitutional rights that no administration is authorized to commit. [620]
How We Do It
- Establish statutory requirements that all immigration enforcement operations comply with Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections, including the right to a hearing before an immigration judge prior to removal, the right to counsel in removal proceedings for any person who asserts a claim to citizenship or legal status, and the prohibition on removal to any country where the individual faces a credible risk of persecution, torture, or death. Explicitly prohibit the use of military personnel in domestic immigration enforcement operations except as expressly authorized by Congress. [621]
- Establish an independent Immigration Enforcement Oversight Board with authority to investigate complaints of constitutional violations in immigration enforcement operations, to compel the production of records from ICE and CBP, and to recommend disciplinary action for officers who violate constitutional rights. Require body camera use by all immigration enforcement officers during enforcement operations and mandate the preservation of footage for all operations resulting in detention or removal. [622]
- Immigration enforcement must be conducted in accordance with the law, with respect for human dignity, and with full protection of the due process rights that the Constitution guarantees to all persons on American soil, not just citizens. Enforcement that targets law-abiding long-term residents, separates families, and operates without judicial oversight is not the rule of law; it is the abuse of power. [623]
- Refocus immigration enforcement resources on individuals who pose genuine public safety threats, rather than the mass deportation of long-term residents, asylum seekers, and individuals with no criminal history beyond their immigration status. [624]
- Guarantee due process rights for all individuals subject to immigration enforcement, including the right to a hearing before an immigration judge, the right to legal representation, and the right to appeal removal orders. [625]
- End the practice of family separation as an immigration enforcement tool, recognizing it as a form of cruel and unusual punishment that causes lasting trauma to children and families. [626]
Integration & Citizenship
Immigration does not end at the border. The successful integration of immigrants into American society, economically, socially, and civically, is essential both for the wellbeing of immigrants themselves and for the communities that receive them. America has a long and largely successful history of absorbing and integrating waves of immigration, and the institutions and programs that support integration deserve sustained investment. [627]
How We Do It
- Invest in English language learning programs, citizenship preparation courses, and civic integration resources that help immigrants become full participants in American society. [628]
- Protect the right to citizenship by birth as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, rejecting any attempt to limit or eliminate birthright citizenship through executive action or legislation. [629]
- Address the exploitation of immigrant workers, documented and undocumented, by strengthening labor law enforcement and protecting the right of immigrant workers to report violations without fear of deportation. [630]
H-1B Visa Reform & Skilled Worker Immigration
The H-1B visa program was established with a legitimate and important purpose, allowing American employers to hire foreign nationals with specialized skills in fields where domestic talent is scarce. In practice, however, the program has been systematically abused by large corporations and outsourcing firms that use it not to fill genuine talent gaps but to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor, undermining wages and working conditions in the very fields the program was designed to support. [631]
How We Do It
- Establish a genuine prevailing wage requirement for H-1B workers that reflects actual market wages for the relevant occupation and geographic area, eliminating the wage floors that currently allow employers to pay H-1B workers significantly below market rates. [632]
- Reform the H-1B lottery system to prioritize the highest-skilled and highest-wage positions, representing genuine specialized expertise not available in the domestic labor market, over the high-volume, lower-wage positions that currently dominate the program. [633]
- Create clear, accessible pathways to permanent residency and citizenship for H-1B workers who have made genuine, long-term contributions to American innovation and economic competitiveness. [634]
International Students
International students make enormous contributions to American universities, research institutions, and the broader economy, bringing diverse perspectives, filling critical graduate and research positions, generating billions of dollars in economic activity, and in many cases going on to found companies, make discoveries, and create jobs that benefit the entire country. At the same time, the international student visa system has created vulnerabilities to exploitation, fraud, and abuse, including diploma mills that exploit international students for visa fees without providing genuine education. [635]
How We Do It
- Streamline and modernize the international student visa process, reducing bureaucratic barriers and processing delays that deter the world's best students from choosing American universities, recognizing that competition for global talent is intense and that America cannot afford to make itself an unwelcoming destination. [636]
- Establish clear, accessible pathways for international students who graduate from American universities in high-demand fields to transition to work authorization and ultimately permanent residency, capturing the investment that American universities have made in their education rather than forcing them to take their skills elsewhere. [637]
- Protect international students from exploitation by fraudulent educational institutions, including diploma mills, through rigorous accreditation standards, enhanced oversight of student visa sponsoring institutions, and robust enforcement against fraudulent operators. Ensure that international students have full access to legal protections against exploitation by employers, landlords, and others who prey on their vulnerability. [638]
- Invest in programs that connect international students with American communities, industries, and research institutions, maximizing the mutual benefits of international student exchange and building the person-to-person relationships that strengthen America's global relationships and soft power. [639]
Stateless Persons & Special Immigration Circumstances
Among the most vulnerable people in the world are those who are stateless, people who are not recognized as nationals by any country and who therefore exist in a legal limbo that denies them the most basic protections of citizenship anywhere. Statelessness can result from discrimination, the dissolution of states, gaps in nationality laws, or the circumstance of birth in no-man's-land between legal systems. The United States has a humanitarian obligation to address statelessness both domestically and through international leadership. [640]
How We Do It
- Accede to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, establishing a clear legal framework for the identification and protection of stateless persons in the United States. Establish a formal statelessness determination procedure that allows individuals who may be stateless to have their status formally assessed. [641]
- Develop special immigration provisions for individuals fleeing climate-related displacement, a category of forced migration that international refugee law does not currently address but that is expected to affect hundreds of millions of people in coming decades, establishing America as a leader in developing the legal frameworks necessary to address this emerging humanitarian challenge. [642]
- Establish clear immigration provisions for victims of human trafficking who have been brought to the United States against their will, ensuring they are treated as victims rather than violators of immigration law and have access to the legal status, support services, and protection they need to rebuild their lives. [643]
- Establish a clear pathway to permanent residency for long-term TPS holders who have built lives, families, and careers in the United States, recognizing that individuals who have lived here for decades under repeatedly extended temporary protected status deserve a durable solution. [644]
Immigration Court Reform
The immigration court system is in a state of profound crisis. A backlog of millions of cases means that individuals wait years, sometimes more than a decade, for their cases to be heard, living in legal limbo without the ability to fully work, travel, or plan their lives. Immigration judges are overwhelmed, under-resourced, and subject to political pressure that compromises their independence. The result is a system that delivers neither justice nor efficiency. [645]
How We Do It
- Dramatically increase the number of immigration judges and support staff, with the goal of reducing the case backlog to a level that allows cases to be heard within a reasonable timeframe, no more than one year from filing for straightforward cases. [646]
- Establish the immigration court system as a truly independent Article I court, removing it from the Department of Justice and insulating immigration judges from political pressure and executive branch interference in individual case outcomes. [647]
- Ensure that all individuals appearing before immigration courts have access to legal representation, recognizing that the complexity of immigration law makes meaningful due process impossible without counsel. [648]
Refugee Admissions & America's Humanitarian Tradition
The United States Refugee Admissions Program, established by the Refugee Act of 1980, is the world's largest and most established resettlement program. It represents one of the clearest expressions of American values: the belief that people fleeing persecution, violence, and genocide deserve a chance at safety and that the most powerful nation on Earth has both the capacity and the obligation to provide it. The near-elimination of refugee admissions through administrative action, reducing the annual ceiling to as low as 18,000, is not a national security measure. Refugees are the most thoroughly vetted immigrants who enter the United States, subject to security screening that can take two years or more. The reduction in refugee admissions is a choice about American values, and it is the wrong choice.
How We Do It
- Restore the annual refugee admissions ceiling to at least 125,000 per year and work toward expanding it further in recognition of the scale of global displacement, which has reached record levels driven by climate change, conflict, and persecution. Invest in the refugee resettlement infrastructure, including the network of voluntary agencies and state and local resettlement offices, that was systematically dismantled during periods of reduced admissions and that cannot be quickly rebuilt. [649]
- Reaffirm American leadership in international refugee protection through active participation in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees resettlement program, bilateral cooperation with allies on burden-sharing, and advocacy for improved conditions in countries of first asylum. The United States cannot credibly claim global leadership while turning away those who need protection most. Restore and fully fund the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to the staffing levels necessary to administer a robust admissions program. [650]