(The Center Square) – America doesn’t need to “choose between border security and immigration reform,” U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, said as he released his plan to address both issues.
His proposal consists of five key parts: securing the border, reforming the country’s asylum system, increasing legal immigration pathways, giving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients a path to citizenship and tackling the causes of migration.
“Americans deserve the right to feel safe [and] know their border is secure, but for decades, Congress has tried and failed to take action because politics got in the way. It’s time to push forward and enact a plan that works,” the first-time senator and former U.S. House member said Monday.
Gallego added America must give immigrant communities a shot at the American dream.
The senator’s plan to secure the southern border includes hiring and retaining more Border Patrol agents, allowing these agents to do their jobs and building border barriers at strategic positions.
In addition, he recommends focusing on removing criminal illegal immigrants and making the migrant processing time more efficient.
Regarding America’s asylum system, Gallego wants to decrease the wait time for the adjudication system by hiring asylum officers. These officers would be given the authority to make decisions on these claims.
He also wants to strengthen America’s asylum standard and allow people who meet the new standard to get work authorization.
In an attempt to increase legal immigration pathways, Gallego’s plan suggests that America raise the number of certain visas and Green Cards for people so they can lawfully move to America.
On top of this, Gallego recommends creating a new visa program that has strong labor standards.
The senator also wants to increase refugee resettlement and remove visa caps per country.
Gallego’s plan seeks to have E-Verify implemented nationwide for businesses.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, America’s foreign-born population makes up almost 16% of the total population. This represents the largest number in American history.
In terms of giving DACA recipients a pathway to citizenship, Gallego’s plan said it “aligns with American values and will drive economic activity, innovation, and competitiveness for generations to come.”
Besides attempting to give citizenship to Dreamers, Gallego also suggests doing the same for spouses of illegal immigrants.
The plan notes that as of 2023, America had an estimated 3.4 million DACA recipients.
To help combat the issues causing migrants to come to America, Gallego’s plan suggests creating a resettlement program that assists other countries in taking refugees.
Furthermore, it adds that America would give additional funds to countries in the Western Hemisphere to combat the flow of migrants so America’s borders are not overwhelmed.
This proposal was introduced when border crossings at the southern border plummeted after President Donald Trump took office.
America saw 86,893 border encounters nationwide in February, March and April.
In December, America saw 124,496 encounters.
