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John,

The influx of asylum-seekers across America's borders has had significant fiscal and humanitarian consequences, posed a challenge to President Biden’s leadership, and created opportunities for his political opponents to stir up xenophobic outrage.

Fortunately, Mike writes in a Bloomberg Opinion piece published this morning, the president is stepping forward, and taking action that "will benefit cities, the U.S. economy and -- so long as he keeps it up -- his standing with voters."

Last week, President Biden announced plans to provide temporary protected status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan asylum-seekers -- a decision that also grants them work authorization. It's a commonsense way to let asylum-seekers contribute to the economy, and relieves pressure on cities like New York that are spending billions to house people who previously had no legal way to provide for themselves.

Along with being humane and fiscally responsible, President Biden's action also undermines efforts to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment and exploit partisan division. "For some candidates on the right, including the former president," Mike writes, "the chance to stir up outrage against downtrodden asylum-seekers -- and to blast Democrats for blocking them from working while spending taxpayer dollars to put them up in hotels -- is a dream scenario." Allowing asylum-seekers to work limits opportunities for cynical exploitation of this crisis.

President Biden's action on Venezuelan asylum-seekers is a good start. But more needs to be done. "The crisis remains urgent, and larger steps must be taken to address it," Mike writes. Read his message on what those steps should be:

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-09-27/immigration-crisis-biden-s-lifeline-is-also-a-blow-to-xenophobia

Thanks,

MikeBloomberg.com