John,
Washington can no longer afford to ignore the deepening failures of our immigration and asylum systems, writes Mike in a New York Times op-ed published this morning. With the costs growing by the day -- to cities, the economy, immigrants, and to the political futures of Democrats and others who want to find real solutions -- Mike is calling for "swift and decisive action."
Not only are our systems inadequate to the growing influx of immigrants, in many cases -- like laws that prevent asylum seekers from working -- our approaches exacerbate the problems. The U.S. "essentially allows an unlimited number of people to cross our borders, forbids them from working, offers them free housing, and grants them seven years of residency before ruling on whether they can legally stay," writes Mike.
"It would be hard to devise a more backward and self-defeating system." Read more →
It's imperative that Washington step up. Today's challenges are being managed through enormous effort and expense in cities like New York and Chicago. But they're the product of long-broken federal measures and years of bi-partisan inaction: "Both parties created the problem, and both parties must work together to fix it."
Read more in the New York Times, and share with your networks to help energize the call for action on this critical challenge →
"We are a nation of immigrants because we are a land of opportunity," writes Mike. Our treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers should reflect that fundamental truth.
Thanks,
MikeBloomberg.com
