Immigration policy focuses on laws that regulate who can come into a country, how many people can enter each year, and what conditions must be met for those to stay. Immigration policy also covers broader economic and cultural policies that can influence migration flows. These include social, labor market, and education policies.
The New Democratic vision invests in strong border security, a necessity, while building a commonsense 21st century immigration system that helps Americans prosper. This means ensuring legal pathways for workers with the skills that businesses need, linking visa numbers on employment, family reunification, and diversity grounds to the American economy, and supporting international partners in offering additional paths to safety for people fleeing persecution abroad.
Law-abiding undocumented immigrants should be allowed to earn a path to legal status if they meet stringent requirements that ensure their integration into society and their ability to contribute to our economy. Mass deportation efforts are hurting hard-working communities, creating fear, and pushing away talented students, researchers, and entrepreneurs who could be contributing to our prosperity.
The United States should offer more durable and predictable asylum protections, and expand access to these protections by allowing people to apply directly at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, increasing support for resettlement programs in their home countries, and enhancing the ability of local organizations to screen applicants for protection. The United States should also surge resources to clear the backlog of asylum cases at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and in immigration courts, by hiring more asylum officers and judges, enhancing case processing technology, and filling other systems staffing needs to enable the efficient adjudication of these cases.
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