John,

Last night the House of Representatives passed H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act—an extreme piece of legislation that does nothing to actually secure the U.S. border and instead would further worsen the humanitarian crisis occurring at the U.S.-Mexico border. It would deport unaccompanied children, end asylum, restart the Remain in Mexico policy, and resume building Trump’s border wall.

Instead of working to fix our nation’s immigration system, right-wing extremists are demonizing immigrants, including vulnerable children, while shutting down our border and ending asylum.

This legislation passed just hours before Title 42 officially ended, but some lawmakers are now moving towards passing other harmful immigration legislation that does nothing to protect migrants or our border.

We need humane immigration and asylum policies to protect our border and those seeking protection from violence and persecution. The Secure the Border Act as well as legislation introduced by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Thom Tillis are just continuations of the same failed policies. Send a direct message to your senators and urge them to reject H.R.2 and the Tillis-Sinema bill (S.1473).

Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have introduced legislation that would grant a temporary two-year extension to expel migrants at the border—unlike Title 42, it’s not tied to a health emergency.[1] This legislation would implement more stringent legal standards to avoid expulsion, which puts the lives of asylum-seeking individuals, families, and children at risk.

The Sinema-Tillis bill would also create new detention and expulsion regimes and worsen the humanitarian crisis at the border. Ever since Title 42 was implemented in 2020, seeking asylum in the U.S. has become almost impossible—the Department of Homeland Security has used Title 42 more than 2.8 million times to expel people. This new legislation is closely modeled after Title 42 and will do nothing but continue to separate families, increase detention, and lead to more chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We can have a secure border and humane immigration and asylum policies that keep vulnerable people out of harm's way. The Biden administration and Congress could work together to strengthen refugee support and hosting capacities in other countries, ensure the prioritization of children’s rights and well-being, and implement a vastly different system that protects survivors of gender-based violence.

The United States has the resources and the capacity to enact a more humane asylum process that protects people. Send a message to your senators and urge them to vote against harmful legislation that recreates failed policies and instead work towards a more compassionate system that protects asylum seekers.

The U.S. has a longstanding regressive and punitive policy stance when it comes to immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, and decades of that failed policy has only produced chaos, trauma, and multiple humanitarian crises. It’s time for something different. It’s time for humanitarian policies that welcome asylum seekers and provide them with the care and resources they need for their safety and stability. They deserve protection because their lives literally depend on it.

Thank you for all you do to protect migrants and asylum seekers,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs