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WASHINGTON Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and eight other Democratic governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders Monday, requesting federal aid and urging changes to immigration law as their states take in an overwhelming number of asylum seekers.

The sustained arrival of individuals seeking asylum and requiring shelter and assistance, due to lack of Congressional action on infrastructure and policies, can only be addressed with federal organizational support and funding to meet the public safety and humanitarian needs of our local communities, the letter led by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul read.

The letter was also signed by Govs. Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Gavin Newsom of California, Jared Polis of Colorado, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Phil Murphy of New Jersey.

New York City has taken in 168,000 migrants in the past 18 months, according to Mayor Eric Adams. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has added to the strain in major Democratic-run cities by placing migrants on buses and planes to such cities, often without warning local officials.

While the Biden Administration has made important progress in managing immigration at the Southwest border, the number of migrants arriving in states and cities seeking emergency shelter continues to increase at record pace, according to the letter. States and cities have spent billions to address inaction by Congress and match these challenges with solutions for our state and local economies.

In a statement, Polis called for more border security as well as other policy reforms and federal funding.

We need Congress to take action to secure our border and pass comprehensive immigration reform. States cant do this alone, Polis said. Without seriously securing the border, providing interior states relief and real reform the challenges facing states and localities will only grow.

A bipartisan trio of Senate negotiators Sens. James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, Kyrsten Sinema, independent of Arizona, and Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut are hammering out the final details of changes to immigration policy as part of negotiations for a global security aid package of more than $100 billion. Some Republican senators had demanded immigration policy changes to be applied to the Southern border as a condition of considering Bidens request for overseas aid.

The governors asked that Congress grant Bidens request to include in a supplemental funding bill $4.4 billion for a federal migration strategy and $1.4 billion in aid to states and local governments dealing with an influx of migrants.

The governors are requesting Congress and the White House include federal coordination and decompression at the southern and northern borders; federal funding for both border and interior states and cities receiving new arrivals; and a serious commitment to modernizing our immigration system in the United States.

Of the $100 billion in supplemental funding, about $14 billion would go toward U.S. border security, and the rest would be for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Senators have not released bill text on the immigration policy, but the proposals they are considering would mark the most significant change to immigration law in the last 30 years.

Proposals being floated include making changes to asylum law that would set a higher bar for migrants to claim asylum and curbing the White Houses use of its parole authority that it has used to grant temporary protections to migrants from certain countries and others at the U.S. southern border.

With ongoing conflicts around the world, global migration is at a historic high, according to the letter. States and cities cannot indefinitely respond to the subsequent strain on state and local resources without Congressional action.

The letter comes after Biden said in a speech to more than 300 bipartisan mayors at a conference in Washington, D.C., that he is supportive of significant policy changes to asylum law a stark reversal from his administrations earlier position to protect asylum law.

Editors note: This story first appeared on Colorado Newsline, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.

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Polis, 8 other Dem governors call on Biden, Congress to act on immigration - RealVail

Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, passed away unexpectedly late Jan 19 due to complications from recent health problems, according to a post from the diocese. He was 63.

Bishop Dorsonville had headed the diocese as its fifth bishop just under a year since his installation on March 29, 2023. Prior to that, the bishop had served as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington for eight years since his appointment in 2015.

It is with great sadness and deep shock that I announce to you that our beloved Shepherd, Bishop Mario Dorsonville, passed away at 6:50 pm this evening after he gave in to complications arising from recent health problems, Father Simon Peter Engurait, the dioceses vicar general, said in posting the news of the bishops death on social media Jan. 19.

My heart is broken as I make this news to you as this is not the kind of message any one of us would expect to receive, he wrote. I am aware that you will have a lot of questions on your mind. I ask that you be patient with us as we begin to navigate through these uncertain moments. In the meantime, I ask that you keep him in your prayers.

No funeral arrangements have been announced but the diocese said in a statement it expected the funeral to fall at the end of January and the ceremonies to be local.

Bishop Michael G. Duca of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said in a statement Jan. 19, I was deeply saddened to hear of the untimely death of my brother bishop Mario Dorsonville of Houma-Thibodaux. The faithful of the Diocese of Baton Rouge join me in prayer for the people of his diocese who have embraced him so lovingly during his short time among them. May he rest eternally in the arms of our Lord and Savior.

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito, vicar general and moderator of the curia for the archdiocese, remembered Bishop Dorsonville in a Jan. 20 email to the priests and members of the archdiocese.

Those who were touched by Bishop Dorsonville came to know what a special soul he is, Bishop Esposito wrote. His friendliness, cordial smile and gracious kindness warmed the hearts of everyone who encountered him. A priest forever by virtue of his ordination, he was a good and faithful servant of the Lord he loved so well and served with such fervent dedication.

On the national level, Bishop Dorsonville was a vocal advocate for immigration reform in the U.S. and served as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration from 2019 to 2022. He also served as a member of the USCCBs Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Committee on Migration and Refugees, Committee on Religious Liberty and the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., or CLINIC, mourned the bishops passing in a statement Jan. 21.

Bishop Dorsonville, a cherished member of CLINICs Board of Directors, was not only a steadfast supporter of our mission of welcome but also an integral part of our organizational fabric, wrote Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC. His unique perspective, rooted in his personal immigrant journey as a native son of Colombia, enriched our Board discussions. Personally, I will deeply miss his impassioned contributions, and CLINIC will forever be grateful for the wisdom and guidance he generously shared with us over the years. As we extend our heartfelt prayers for the repose of Bishop Dorsonville, we also hold his parishioners, loved ones, and Brother Bishops close to our hearts during this difficult time.

He was born Oct. 31, 1960 in Bogot, Colombia, and was the only child of Leonor M. Rodrguez and Carlos J. Dorsonville. He was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 23, 1985, in Bogot.

He served Bogot parishes in various roles, first as parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in 1986 then as pastor of San Jose de Calasanz Parish from 1987 to 1991. He also was associate chaplain at the National University of Colombia in Bogot during this time and taught as a professor of business ethics at the university from 1990 to 1991.

He also continued his studies and received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogot in 1991 and a doctorate in ministry from The Catholic University of America in 1996.

During his time at The Catholic University of America from 1992 to 1994, he served the Hispanic community at Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish in Alexandria, Virginia, and Christ the Redeemer Parish in Sterling, Virginia. He also served as a lecturer at the Inter-American Development Bank headquarters in Washington and as professor of theology and catechesis at the Institute for Hispanic Pastoral Studies of Arlington from 1993 to 1994.

He returned to Colombia for a year from 1995 to 1996 to take on the role of chaplain and professor of business ethics at the National University of Colombia. He also was a professor of pastoral counseling and catechesis at the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogot during that time.

Bishop Dorsonville returned to the Archdiocese of Washington and was appointed as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1997 and served there until 2004. He was parochial vicar of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville, Maryland, from 2004 to 2005.

He held a number of other positions in the archdiocese, including serving as a member of the board of directors for Carroll Publishing Company from 2001 to 2004. He was vice president of Catholic Charities for the archdiocese and director of the Spanish Catholic Center from 2005 to 2015.

He received an executive certificate in nonprofit management at Georgetown University in 2009 and was an adjunct spiritual director of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington from 2011 to 2015. He also served as a mentor for newly ordained priests.

In his first homily to his new flock during his installation Mass at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma, Bishop Dorsonville said, I am so grateful for your kindness in welcoming me to this great state of Louisiana. It is your home and now it is mine too. I realize that a new chapter of my life has begun, knowing that the book gets better as the book goes on.

Promising that from now on you are in my prayers, Bishop Dorsonville called on his new family of faith to walk together to answer Gods call to continue to build up the church we love if we do that together we will be closer to holiness.

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Vocal advocate for immigration reform Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Houma-Thibodaux dies unexpectedly at 63 - The Dialog

With Speaker Johnson and House Republicans saying they will not even touch the immigration reform and border security bill being negotiated in the Senate, lawmakers in the upper chamber have a message for House members: Take it or leave it.

During a press conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Senator Graham told the Sun that the deal currently being hammered out by Senators Lankford and Murphy is the best shot his fellow Republicans have at making real change, and they should not wait for a Republican president to get the job done.

If youre really a conservative person, youll want to fix things the best you could, Mr. Graham said of Mr. Johnson. To the conservative world: You have a unique opportunity, as Senator Thune described, to get border security reform without giving amnesty or a pathway to citizenship to one person. This moment will pass. Do not let it pass.

Messrs. Lankford and Murphy have been negotiating the reforms, along with Senator Sinema, since before the Thanksgiving break. Republicans are using the White Houses request for Ukraine aid as a leverage point to demand changes at the border.

The most pressing issue for the GOP is the Biden administrations parole policy, which has allowed millions of migrants to enter the country since 2021. Messrs. Graham and Thune, speaking at the Wednesday press conference, said President Biden and the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, have paroled more than 1.5 million migrants in just the last year, compared to an average of less than 6,000 annually between 2014 and 2020 under Presidents Obama and Trump.

Parole is incentivizing more illegal immigration, is the tool of choice by the Biden administration to implement an open borders policy, Mr. Graham said. Mr. President: There will be no deal, there will be no money for Ukraine, no money for Israel, no money for our own needs unless you stop the abuse of parole.

Mr. Thune said immigration reform has been the most intractable problem for Congress since he was elected to the Senate in 2004. This is the moment, he says, to get something done because Democrats are not demanding comprehensive changes to asylum laws that will pave a pathway for citizenship.

As these negotiations we hope conclude soon, there have been some significant gains made in terms of policies that are real and that reduce these pull factors that are encouraging people to come across the border illegally, he said. You cannot fix the problem that we have the crisis that we have at our southern border unless you address this critical issue of the abuse by this administration of the parole authority.

Mr. Johnson, who is already on thin ice with his partys conservative members because of the budget deal he struck with Senator Schumer, is taking a hard line on this proposal. He says the only viable option for addressing the border and immigration issue is for the Senate to take up his hardline immigration bill known as H.R. 2.

The legislation passed the House with zero Democratic votes last year and quickly died in the Senate when Mr. Schumer refused to take it up.

Absolutely not, Mr. Johnson said in response to the leaked details of the immigration deal, which would reportedly allow for up to 5,000 crossings at the border a day and would expedite work permits for the adult children of migrants, among other things.

The House Freedom Caucus has already paralyzed the House once by voting down a rule in a protest move against Mr. Johnsons budget agreement. They could easily do that again or even introduce a motion to remove the speaker if Mr. Johnson were to take up this much-despised bill.

The Senates Schumer-Lankford border deal is a deal for illegal aliens not Americans, Congressman Andy Biggs said in response to the leaked details of the bill. We need to be securing the border and removing illegal aliens from our country not giving illegal aliens work permits and taxpayer-funded lawyers.

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Senators Tell House Republicans To Take It or Leave It on Immigration Reform and Border Security - The New York Sun

House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee Chair Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) listens to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar as he testifies about the the FY20 in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Feb. 26, 2020 in Washington. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Outgoing California Rep. Anna Eshoos biggest tech regret isnt what youd expect: Its immigration reform.

We would not be the nation that we are without being an immigrant nation. And immigrants play a very important role in the technology industry. So many come to the United States to be educated here, Eshoo, whose district covers Silicon Valley, said Sunday during an interview on MSNBCs Inside with Jen Psaki.

We have the finest colleges and universities, Eshoo continued. Certainly, Stanford University, which is the geographic center of my district. But once theyre educated, if they cannot get a green card, they have to leave.

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Outgoing Silicon Valley lawmaker says big tech needs immigration reform - POLITICO

For three years, the Biden Administration has engaged in egregious denialism, blame shifting and half-truths before now finally conceding the southern border is in crisis and pronouncing itself open to significant changes to stem the unprecedented flood of illegal immigration into the United States.

The dramatic change in attitude burst into the open when the president, discussing his Administrations official posture on immigration, uttered five words significant compromises on the border would be considered by the White House.

While the presidents remark changed the dynamics of the immigration debate, it infuriated the progressive left wing of his party who accused the Administration of caving in to the demands of Congressional Republicans and signaled a return to the Trump era restrictive policies denial of asylum claims, arrests and deportations the president himself repealed immediately upon taking office. Warnings of an immigrant surge went unheeded.

The American people would be encouraged if they believed the change in approach resulted from an epiphany, an awakening in the Administration that the scales have fallen from its eyes and it realized that its indecision and outright refusal to act has exacerbated the financial and humanitarian crisis that has befallen communities along the southwestern border and a number of major American cities as they struggle to provide housing, food and social services to tens of thousands of migrants.

It didnt.

The Administrations hand was forced by the application of a major dose of power politics, an Ill-give-you-what-you-want-if-you-give-me-what-I-want accommodation usually referred to in more polite terms as bipartisan compromise.

The deal shaping up would award the Administration its request for $100 billion in aid to Ukraine to continue its war against Russian invasion and to Israel in its war with Hamas in return for significant changes in immigration policy, including rejecting claims for asylum as well as detention and deportation of those found to have entered the country illegally.

Republican demands that heightened border security measures be included in the Ukraine/Israel aid package has placed the entire issue in the hands of a bipartisan group of Senators to develop a consensus that hopefully will win approval jn the Congress and the White House.

Hopes for an aggressive schedule to reach agreement before years end have faded and action now appears delayed into January.

The Administration desperately needs the legislative victory represented by aid for Ukraine and Israel and, while willing to accept more stringent border security measures to achieve it, has recognized albeit belatedly that it must act to wriggle out from under the perception that it is responsible for an open border and the record influx of migrants into the country.

Mayors of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, San Francisco and Denver, for instance, have taken their grievances with the Administration public, demanding millions in Federal aid to deal with the rising migrant population.

They face cutting their municipal budgets for education and policing, for instance, to provide funding for housing and other services to migrants. At the same time, they have come under severe criticism from their citizens and taxpayers who claim their needs are being ignored in favor of individuals here illegally.

That the Administration has bungled the issue since the very outset is undeniable. Its insistence that the border was secure was undermined by news accounts and images of border crossings in record numbers and migrants put up in hotels, police stations and airports.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejadro Mayorkas and White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre clung stubbornly and without apparent embarrassment to an everything is under control narrative.

Jean Pierre, faced with mountains of contradictory evidence, attempted to shift the blame to former president Trump and Republicans in Congress for failing to act on comprehensive immigration reform.

She has consistently been on the defensive, scrambling for explanations and excuses while her credibility crumbled.

Even when it became clear that the Administration position had become untenable, it failed to move.

Leaked news accounts describing White House officials as failing to act out of a fear of offending its left wing only added to the poor management of the issue at the highest levels.

The presidents public disapproval of his performance on immigration rose to 65 percent and, when combined with dismal ratings on the economy, inflation, crime and foreign policy, dragged his overall standing below 40 percent. In some surveys, he trails Trump in a hypothetical 2024 matchup.

The Republican demands for including border security measures to the Ukraine and Israel aid package smacks of legislative hostage taking a not uncommon occurrence but also offers the Administration a path toward recovering some level of credibility to its immigration position.

It was all so avoidable, however, if the Administration had recognized and responded to the warning signs rather than allowing ideological pressures and a desire to draw sharp contrast with Trump to dictate policy.

Choosing to allow the issue to fester and produce an enormous and potentially election jeopardizing political headache was a badly misguided and amateurish decision.

As distasteful as it may be to some in the Administration, accepting the recommendations of the bipartisan Congressional committee offers a lifeline, an opportunity to recover and demonstrate they really do understand the severity of the problem.

How far the progressive left is prepared to go to tank the effort remains to be seen. Dealing with them will require direct involvement of the president and convincing them there is far too much at stake a re-election and control of Congress to fail to act.

Not only is addressing immigration at risk, but the potential for long delays in providing aid to Ukraine and Israel if not losing it altogether it would seriously weaken a president already in danger as he heads deeper into his re-election bid.

The blame, though, lies squarely with the Administration. It continued to paint itself into a corner on immigration and, rather than attempt to extricate itself as undamaged as possible, chose to send out for more paint.

Carl Golden is a senior contributing analyst with the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University.

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Immigration Reform: An Awakening Or Political Reality? - InsiderNJ