Principles that Prioritize American Traditions
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B Stands for a Better Way Forward

Good afternoon,

Within the first months of 2024, immigration has already found its place center stage this election season. After a failed bipartisan border deal in the Senate, both political parties are vying for the competitive edge on border security and immigration reform. Just last week, President Biden and Former President Donald Trump, visited the border drawing national attention and sharing their own visions for immigration and border policies. As border crossings rise and policymakers still need answers, the National Immigration Forum has created six principles to guide our leaders toward a secure, orderly, and humane immigration process (read the full press release here): 

A Better Way Forward: 2024 Immigration Principles

 

  1. Show compassion and justice to longtime residents, including Dreamers, by allowing them an opportunity to earn lawful status and citizenship. 
  2. Continue our moral leadership in the world as a welcoming and compassionate nation that offers refuge to the persecuted. 
  3. Honor the human dignity of all people through our words and actions. 
  4. Address the need for safety and security on the border and in our communities. Promote community trust and safety by focusing immigration enforcement on threats to public safety and national security and preserving federal leadership in setting immigration enforcement policy. 
  5. Enable fair and orderly legal immigration that continues to solidify our global economic leadership. Modernize laws to reduce backlogs and improve work visa programs for current and future workers. 
  6. Defend the longstanding constitutional principle of birthright citizenship. 

The Forum urges lawmakers to stay rooted in these principles that prioritize American traditions and safety within our communities. Oftentimes, elections skew the national discussion and obfuscate the policy solutions to the most pressing of issues. Immigration requires solutions and those solutions require a commitment to compassion as a nation and as individuals. Last week, the Bullfinch Group and National Immigration Forum released a survey indicating that 55% of registered voters are in favor of a bipartisan solution to immigration. Additional recent polling also shows that evangelicals support immigration reform ahead of the election season.

The answer to immigration reform will not be found in fear and division but rather in an unwavering commitment to protect human dignity and promote security. These six principles not only apply to our leaders but to all Americans, calling us to remember our own values during this election season. In light of debates that will most certainly ensue, we want to encourage everyone to strive for a better way forward and to demand the same from our representatives.  

Stay hopeful and committed,

Oula Alrifai

Oula Alrifai
Assistant Vice President of Field and Constituencies
National Immigration Forum 

*The Field and Constituencies Team would like to thank Spring Intern, Grace Wiczek for her contribution to this report.


NEWS CLIPS TO NOTE:

THE DISPATCH: Evangelicals’ Immigration Tension

AP: On the Rio Grande, 300 miles apart, Biden and Trump try to use immigration to election advantage

BBC: Supreme Court temporarily blocks controversial Texas border law SB4 

GALLUP: Immigration Surges to Top of Most Important Problem List

BLOOMBERG: Immigration Rage Drowns Out the US Labor Market’s Need for Workers

POLITICO: Adams calls for change to New York City’s sanctuary city laws in harshest statement yet

Learn More