Migration and Refugees

In the words of President Ronald Reagan: “They brought with them courage, ambition, and the values of family, neighborhood, work, peace, and freedom. We all came from different lands, but we share the same values, the same dream.” 

Unfortunately, our migration and refugee policies have failed to meet the needs and reflect the ideals of our nation, especially in recent years. Our broken immigration system threatens to erode our competitive advantage in industries of the future, from artificial intelligence to green energy to bioengineering. Net migration to the United States dropped significantly between 2016 and 2021, with only a slight rebound in 2022. U.S. humanitarian leadership abroad has been undermined by unprecedented restrictions on the rights for migrants to claim asylum, patchwork responses to immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border, a failure to support our Afghan partners stuck in legal limbo, and a gutting of our refugee resettlement program in 2018 that has only recently rebounded. While the nation has moved away from some of its most inhumane border measures, like family separations, too many political leaders push unrealistic and inflammatory immigration policies, like using lethal military force at our borders, which end up sowing division, fostering xenophobia, and stymieing diplomatic efforts to address the underlying causes of migration from Central America.