BIDEN’S IMMIGRATION FUNDING REQUEST MUST BE REFOCUSED TOWARD HELPING MIGRANTS
QUICK READ: Faced with large influxes of migrants and a “crisis” manufactured by MAGA governors sending them to blue states, Biden’s forgotten his promises to create a just, humane immigration system. It is up to Congress to pass legislation that treats migrants with compassion and dignity.
CONTENTS:
BACKGROUND
We’re at our best when we welcome all people with dignity and compassion.
Unfortunately, faced with large influxes of migrants and a “crisis” manufactured by MAGA governors sending them to blue states, Biden’s forgotten his promises to create a just, humane immigration system.
Faced with MAGA criticisms, his 2023 border policy now mirrors Trump’s:
Fast-tracking border wall construction, despite GAO finding significant environmental and cultural damage;
Presuming asylum seekers ineligible because they arrived under a policy ruled unlawful;
Expediting family deportation;
Seeking $25 billion in 2024 for ICE and CBP, agencies abusing immigrants.
Much better short-term ways exist to deal with increased migrant crossings:
Eliminate crowding at the southern border, by using existing refugee resettlement infrastructures for resettling migrants throughout the country with funds accompanying them to their temporary homes.
Alleviate the labor shortages and ease receiving communities’ costs, by granting migrants work authorization, also offering it to our undocumented population.
Allow all asylum seekers to come through authorized ports of entry, rather than illegally, by funding many more asylum officers and immigration judges.
Biden’s request for emergency border aid focuses instead on enforcement, detention, and expulsion and seeks too little to help communities receiving migrants and hire more asylum officers and immigration judges.
It is up to Congress to reverse these priorities.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. The border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill must be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
*SEN. WYDEN:* Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. The border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill must be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. As your constituent, I expect you to demand that the border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill must be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. The border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill must be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. As your constituent, I expect you to demand that the border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. The border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill must be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
Script for Val Hoyle (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. The border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill must be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
Script for Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. As your constituent, I expect you to demand that the border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
Script for Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
Salem office: 503-385-0906 | DC office: 202-225-5643
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I do not want my taxes to fund the border’s militarization President Biden is now pushing. The border money he’s requesting in his emergency funding bill must be used instead to humanize the system—by massively increasing the number of asylum workers and immigration judges, funding the resettlement of migrants throughout the U.S., assisting receiving areas to cover the initial costs associated with their resettlement, and granting immediate work authorization to migrants and undocumented adults.
FURTHER READING
How the Media Turns Migrants Into Monsters
Right-Wing Policy is the Cause of the Crisis at the Border
The Triumph of Trump’s Anti-Migrant Cruelty
A Series of Ups and Downs for Immigrants in the U.S.
There’s a labor shortage in the U.S. Why is it so hard for migrants to legally work?
Migrants Desperate for Jobs Trapped in Asylum Maze
Biden’s go-ahead for added border wall draws criticism from Democrats in Congress
Biden’s border wall won’t fix a broken immigration system – or deter migrants
Trump’s border wall caused ‘significant’ cultural, environmental damage, watchdog finds
Asylum Ban Inflicts Mounting Harm
Biden is dangling border security money to try to get billions more for Israel and Ukraine
