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Two weekends ago, I traveled to Washington D.C. as one of ten students involved with Define America, the student group that aims to amplify and echo the voices of the immigrant community on campus and in the community. The trips purpose was to meet with our home state representatives and senators to lobby for immigration reform by holding them accountable to past promises and pushing them to support or oppose certain bills.

It seemed simple. We were going to ask probing questions, engage in difficult conversation, and walk out feeling empowered and hopeful about the future.

We could not have been more wrong.

What we encountered instead was a widespread sense of resigned defeat. As we spoke to each congresspersons staff, we were assured that Senator X or Representative Y cared deeply about immigration reform but that they were unable to enact meaningful change. As we asked question after question hoping to hear at least one encouraging response, we were repeatedly told that the issue of immigration was too complex and politicized to address at this time. The system is broken, they told us (as if our own experiences hadnt already taught us that). With each meeting, our groups morale waned as we heard that the issues with our immigration system were beyond repair.

The most honest yet disheartening feedback of the whole trip was that yes, there are bills being introduced and letters being signed in support of immigration reform, but no, there is no confidence anything will change. Because there has been no real immigration reform in decades, the time and effort needed to implement proactive policies is currently being drained by urgent attempts to stop the continued undermining of immigrant rights. Each time a congressperson tries to introduce legislation to fix the immigration system, we were told, they are met with a combination of bullheadedness from the opposition and cowardice from those supposedly dedicated to reform. With all the other problems our nation faces, there is only so much time for continual failed attempts.

I asked myself what could be done. The solution is simple, but implementing it is not.

Look at the steps that have been taken to swiftly allow Ukrainian refugees to enter the country. Then look at the countless systemic barriers their Hispanic counterparts seeking refuge face. One group is deemed the victim of an unjustified war perpetuated by an international war criminal while the other is stigmatized as criminals, drug dealers, and job thieves. Both groups face life threatening conditions at home and both are left with no option but to flee, but one is white, the other brown.

It is time we stop looking at Hispanic immigrants as statistics. These are human beings with the same fears and aspirations as any of us. Individuals that are willing to travel thousands of miles despite knowing they will face mistreatment in a foreign country because the conditions at home are worse. As long as the problems in Central and South America persist, people are going to keep coming.

Its hard to blame someone for doing everything possible to make a better life for themselves and their families. You would likely do the same. So, I urge you to stand up for immigration reform. It will be a difficult process, but it will only be harder and longer if those of us who yearn for change accept defeat. The magnitude of the challenge should inspire us to keep holding our representatives accountable by signing petitions, having difficult conversations, raising awareness, and humanizing immigrants. By taking simple steps in our individual lives, we can overcome the racism and polarization that stands as a roadblock to a more equitable and humane immigration system.

Sofia Cava is a Trinity first-year.

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We can't accept defeat in the fight for immigration reform - Duke Chronicle

From the Ag Information Network, Im Bob Larson. The ag labor shortage has grown in recent years creating a major issue for farmers and consumers across the country.

Idaho Representative Mike Simpson has long been working on immigration reform in Congress and says the Judiciary Committee is busy with a lot of things, but we need them to focus on immigration

SIMPSON And we need to let them know that this is different than what's going on at the border right now. And, in fact, passing this would probably help solve some of the problems with what's going on at the border. Republicans are worried about inflation. Studies have been showing that if you get a legal workforce for agriculture. It will help with inflation. It will help with food costs. What agriculture needs is a stable, reliable workforce.

Simpson and several others all said its going to take a grassroots effort from all of agriculture to get immigration reform passed in Washington

SIMPSON And remember, we had 300 Ag groups that supported it, and not just Ag groups, but Chambers of Commerce, National Bankers Associations, all supported this bill that we had. We need all of them to be calling representatives on the Judiciary Committee, representatives of leadership in the House and in the Senate, to let them know how important this bill is, and what it means to our food supply, and, as we mentioned, to national security.

For more information on ABICs immigration reform efforts,

go to http://www.abic.us .

Link:
Immigration Reform Pt 2 - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE ... - AGInfo Ag Information Network

More than eight-in-10 voters in the poll believe the immigration system is broken and want to see policies that provide a pathway to citizenship, such as work permits for Dreamers. | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo

By Myah Ward

04/19/2023 05:00 AM EDT

Updated: 04/19/2023 10:12 AM EDT

President Joe Bidens immigration problem isnt just about policy. Its that hes not talking about the issue enough, voters say in a new survey from a Democratic polling firm.

Fifty-eight percent of voters in seven key Electoral College battleground states disapprove of how the president is handling immigration, compared with 32 percent who approve, according to a new swing-state poll from Global Strategy Group first shared with POLITICO. And a majority of voters surveyed, at 52 percent, believe Biden is ignoring problems at the border, while 50 percent said the president is ignoring the situation around undocumented immigrants.

Republicans talk more about immigration than Democrats, and they are trusted more to handle the issue, according to the poll. Both parties get low marks for how they are handling immigration, but Democrats face greater criticism because voters dont know where the party falls on the issue. Thirty-nine percent of voters trust Biden and Democrats in Congress more on the immigration issue, while 47 percent said they trust Republican lawmakers more.

The new poll conducted on behalf of immigrant advocacy group Immigration Hub and Voto Latino, a political organization focused on Latino voter turnout comes three weeks before the administration plans to end Title 42, the Trump-era policy that has allowed border agents to immediately expel millions of migrants on public health grounds for the past three years. Biden administration officials fear a surge at the border upon the policys expiration next month and have turned to more restrictive measures to tamp down a record number of migrants fleeing political and economic turmoil.

The White House should seize on the opportunity to get ahead of Republicans growing chatter leading up to the May 11 end date, said Beatriz Lopez, Immigration Hubs chief political and communications officer.

Its comms 101. Get ahead of the narrative. Talk about what youre doing. Talk about what you plan to do, Lopez said. But its talking about both not just the border but also what theyre planning to do to protect Dreamers and others who are every bit a part of the American community. That balanced approach is what works with voters.

The shift in border policy is expected to be a major political test for the Biden White House, which has rolled out a patchwork of solutions to combat a growing humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The Biden administration is also dealing with a gridlocked Congress, although lawmakers have long been unable to compromise on how to fix an outdated immigration system.

The fact is that in the 820 days since he sent Congress a comprehensive immigration reform bill, President Biden has taken unprecedented action to expand lawful immigration pathways, limit unlawful immigration, protect Dreamers and farmworkers, and increase border security. Because of this administrations work, unlawful immigration is down, legal immigration is up, weve got record funds for border security, and thousands of smugglers are now off the streets, White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement.

Meanwhile, all that House Republicans have managed to accomplish since taking their (slim) majority is voting to abruptly lift Title 42 overnight with no plan in place for what comes next, proposing draconian funding cuts to border security, and playing partisan political games that do nothing to actually fix our long-broken immigration system.

House Republicans unveiled immigration legislation this week, with plans to further restrict asylum, expand family detention and crack down on the employment of undocumented workers. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill Wednesday, though the measure has little chance of making it through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) also unveiled a plan on Tuesday that relies on the White House taking executive action to address immigration. He shared his plan with the White House and other federal agencies, with ideas for creating new pathways to citizenship, increasing humanitarian aid for certain countries, increasing border security funding and expanding efforts to target human traffickers.

Menendezs suggestions come as the Biden administration prepares for a spike in border crossings come May, already the busiest time of year for migration. In addition to relying on more stringent immigration proposals to restrict entry to asylum-seeking migrants, the administration has discussed reinstating the detention of migrant families drawing great backlash from immigration advocates, lawyers and Democrats.

More than eight-in-10 voters in the poll 82 percent believe the immigration system is broken, and they want to see both enhanced border security and policies that provide a pathway to citizenship, such as work permits for Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, and Temporary Protected Status for other migrants.

Sixty-five percent of respondents have a positive view of modernizing and improving the physical infrastructure at high-volume ports of entry to enhance screening and processing, while 76 percent want Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. to gain legal status if certain requirements are met, including background checks. Sixty-four percent of voters back the Biden administration using its TPS authority.

Voters disapprove of the job both parties are doing on immigration because they see the system as deeply broken and in desperate need of a fix, said Nick Gourevitch, partner and managing director at Global Strategy Group. Recent polling shows voters clearly want Washington to act with solutions that are balanced that include both border security and pathways to citizenship and legal status for Dreamers and other immigrants.

The Biden administration announced plans last week to expand health care coverage to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but great concern remains about the fate of the popular Obama-era program, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to receive work permits and deportation relief. After a flurry of court challenges, advocates and legal experts warn the program is headed to the Supreme Court, where the conservative bench seems likely to rule it illegal.

The online poll surveyed 1,201 likely 2024 general election voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin between April 4-11. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.8 points.

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Biden is ignoring immigration issues, voters say in poll - POLITICO

From the Ag Information Network, Im Bob Larson. The agricultural labor shortage continues to be a major issue impacting farmers and consumers across the country.

Enrique Sanchez is the American Business Immigration Coalitions intermountain state director, and he says this is a national security issue

SANCHEZ It is critical that we address this issue urgently to keep grocery store shelves stocked and lower food prices for Americans everywhere. We cannot underestimate the importance of this issue to our national security. As we have heard before, food security is national security. The USDA predicts that this year, our country will import more agricultural goods than we export. This should be a wake-up call for all of us.

Sanchez says reforming immigration policy took a big step forward in 2021, but proponents couldnt get it across the finish line

SANCHEZ In 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act for the second time with bipartisan support. However, the Senate failed to take up the legislation, and we lost an important opportunity to make much-needed reforms to address the labor shortage crisis. We need the Senate to do its job, negotiate improvements to the House legislation, and get solutions onto the floor that help our nation's farmers continue to produce and help our nation's families afford to put food on their tables.

Tune in tomorrow for more on immigration reform to improve the ag labor shortage.

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Immigration Reform Pt 1 - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE ... - AGInfo Ag Information Network

Mayor Eric Adams gave President Joe Biden and his administration a forceful message on Wednesday, as the mayor urged the White House to immediately authorize work permits for asylum seekers.

Washington. It is time to respond. Enough is enough. New Yorkers deserve better, Adams said at a press conference.

Approximetely 55,000 migrants have entered the citys shelter system over the past year, with more than 34,000 asylum seekers currentlyin the citys care, according to the mayor.

Currently, asylum seekers have a six-month waiting period before they can legally work.

Adams noted that the ability to work is a top priority for asylum seekers.

They dont want our free shelter. They dont want free food. They dont want free clothing. Theyre saying, 'Can we work?' Adams said.

Adams noted that due to a lack of work authorization permits, migrants have been forced to rely on illegal forms of employment.

City officials also called for extending immigration programs like Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole for asylum seekers, programs that allow migrants to remain in the U.S. for safety reasons.

Adams also called for an increase in staffing at immigration offices to reduce the processing time of asylum applications.

We have a heavy influx, but we dont have the population and the personnel to process them, Adams said.

In response, a White House official in a statement pointed to the need for Congress to act on immigration reform.

Individuals who arrive in the United States under our expanded parole programs are eligible for work authorization. Our administration has also used existing tools, like Temporary Protected Status, for certain populations. But none of these administrative tools are a substitute for congressional action. We need Congress to act. Only they can reform and modernize our decades-old immigration laws, the official said in an emailed response on Wednesday.

Adams call comes as Title 42, an immigration policy that allows federal officials to expel asylum seekers from entering the country during a public health emergency, is set to expire in May.

Currently, about 200 migrants are arriving daily to the city but that number is expected to grow next month.

Thousands of people are waiting at the border and potentially end up in New York City, Adams said before admonishing the Biden administration for their lack of help. Why are you doing this to New York? The national government has turned its back on New York City.

Meanwhile, the city has spent about $817 million sheltering and feeding asylum seekers and is said to be on track to spend $1.4 billion by June.

Adams is expected to visit Washington on Friday for a conference. He will also meet with several White House administration officials to talk about asylum seekers.

Link:
Mayor calls on president to expedite work authorization for migrants - Spectrum News NY1