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B Stands for Bush
Good afternoon,
This week, former President George W. Bush published his new book – Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants – a collection of paintings and stories portraying America’s immigrants and their varied contributions to the United States. President Bush explained in multiple outlets that his goal is not only to share these immigrants’ stories, but to humanize and reframe our national conversation on immigration.
President Bush has made it clear that he has no intention of instructing Congress on how to proceed with immigration reforms. In his Washington Post op-ed, he does, however, "set forth principles for reform that can restore confidence in an immigration system that serves both our values and our interests." These principles include providing a path to citizenship for Dreamers; ensuring a secure and efficient border; addressing root causes of
migration abroad; modernizing the asylum system to ensure legal channels and timely processing for asylum-seekers; expanding legal immigration to meet workforce needs and attract talent; and establishing a "gradual process" for undocumented immigrants to become citizens.
Along with these principles, Mr. Bush reflected on the humbling power of the American presidency. In an interview with CBS Evening News’ Norah O’Donnell, he stated that "the presidency is a great learning experience." This wisdom comes at an opportune moment for President Biden as he faces backlash for his decision on Friday
to maintain the refugee ceiling at 15,000 – a historic low set by the previous administration.
Leaders across the BBB network weighed in, urging the President to fix this grave error. In a statement from the Evangelical Immigration Table, World Relief President, Scott Arbeiter stated, "Most evangelicals probably expected to disagree with President Biden on some policy issues, but his campaign commitments to rebuild the U.S. refugee resettlement program led us to believe we’d be able to celebrate his actions in this area. We cheered announcements in the first weeks of the new administration that a revised refugee ceiling was forthcoming and have been
actively preparing to welcome more refugees in collaboration with local church partners. So it has been deeply disappointing to see the signing of the presidential determination delayed without explanation for months. It has been particularly devastating for families whom we serve whose hopes to be reunified with family members have been deferred. We implore the president to follow through on his commitment immediately."
Founding Council on National Security and Immigration Leader and former DHS Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention, Elizabeth Neumann remarked, "I fear that refugees left to languish in the queue for long periods of time could become vulnerable to bad actors exploiting their resentment and hopelessness — creating potential radicalization paths for the next generation of extremism and terrorist recruits. President Biden made a promise he needs to keep. He needs to formally raise the ceiling to signal to U.S. Refugee Admissions Program partners and the globe that the U.S. is returning to our historic values of being a
safe haven for the most vulnerable." These powerful statements – along with efforts from advocacy groups such as We Welcome Refugees – have been effective in reaching the administration; but it’s clear we must continue to take action until the refugee ceiling is raised. "It’s a nation that is willing to accept the refugee or the harmed or the frightened, that, to me, is a great nation," Mr. Bush shared with CBS News. We could not agree more, and we urge President Biden to right this injustice.
If you are interested in learning more about former President Bush’s paintings of immigrants – or his thoughts on bipartisan immigration reform – the National Immigration Forum is proud to join the George W. Bush Institute and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention in sponsoring a conversation between former President Bush, Dr. Russell Moore, and Dr. Yuval Levin on May 6th at 12:30 PM ET, moderated by our own Ali Noorani. Register here to join us.
Stay healthy and hopeful,
Adam
Adam Estle
Vice President of Field and Constituencies
National Immigration Forum
NEWS CLIPS TO NOTE:
FOX NEWS: Border crisis: Sens. Cornyn, Sinema to introduce bipartisan bill targeting migrant surge
NEW YORK TIMES: An Early Promise Broken: Inside Biden’s Reversal on Refugees
WASHINGTON POST: Climate change creates migrants. Biden considers protections.
USA TODAY: Supreme Court justices push back on allowing temporary immigrants to apply for green cards
POLITICO: Bush pushes immigration reform as GOP sidesteps a deal on it
ASSOCIATED PRESS: New migrant facilities crop up to ease crowding, again
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