Dear John,
For months, governors have been spending millions of dollars to send migrants from border communities to New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Martha’s Vineyard. While these political stunts have backfired as communities have welcomed the newcomers, this situation has also emphasized the urgent need for a comprehensive humanitarian reception infrastructure for asylum seekers.
Fortunately, a viable model already exists. We’re asking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement it – please join us. |
For years, national organizations have been proposing a federally-funded case management system to support newcomers as they pursue their legal rights under U.S. immigration law. This case management system must be prioritized over surveillance-based programs, and should be run by community-based nonprofits with a record of supporting immigrants. In fact, Congress has already given $20 million over two years to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pilot such a program. But DHS has taken an unreasonably long time to start the work. Even though the program was authorized nearly two years ago, DHS only issued the first solicitation for this program on September 20, 2022. Please join us in asking DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to fully support the case management pilot program. We need DHS to follow the clear direction from Congress to reduce immigration detention and replace it with a humane model centered on protection, support, and providing a foundation for self-sufficiency.
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Sincerely, Alex Miller
Director, Immigration Justice Campaign A joint initiative of the American Immigration Council & American Immigration Lawyers Association |
