Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progress is releasing a new plan to fix America’s long-broken immigration system.
CAP’s plan would create an immigration system that is fair, secure, and respects due process and the rule of law. It provides specific policies to restore order to the border by ending the abuse of the asylum system, while still protecting actual victims of persecution. The plan also expands legal avenues for immigration and ensures longtime immigrants can earn a path to citizenship. Together, these reforms demonstrate that we can secure our border and create an immigration system that works best for America without resorting to inhumane policies that pick people legally here and send them to El Salvadoran gulags or terrorize migrants who have been contributing to their communities for decades.
CAP’s plan provides a roadmap to update and modernize the immigration system by:
- Securing and controlling the border to stop illegal immigration
- Fixing the asylum system and ending its misuse
- The CAP plan creates an asylum system at the border with a higher standard. Cases will be adjudicated at the border with due process, and determined within 30 days. Victims of persecution will be swiftly provided safety while nonqualifying cases will be quickly screened out
- Expanding legal immigration to reduce unauthorized migration and strengthen America’s economy
- Creating a secure, earned path to citizenship for people who have lived here for more than a decade and are contributing to their communities and the country
“Americans need a secure border and an immigration system that grows our economy,” said Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress. “It is a false choice to argue we as a country have to choose between an immigration system that prioritizes border security and an immigration system that upholds due process and the rule of law. The CAP plan demonstrates we can secure our border without the wanton chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration. We can have a system that both ends abuses that have led to increased illegal border crossings and expands legal immigration into the country. Leaders of goodwill should support these reforms to modernize our broken immigration system, while respecting the due process rights of immigrants, because that truly represents America’s values.”
Read the report: “A New Immigration System to Safeguard America’s Security, Expand Economic Growth, and Make Us Stronger” by Neera Tanden and Debu Gandhi
Read the factsheet here.
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Julia Cusick at [email protected].