of trump campand its allies project 2025has proposed more than 200 proposals to deter immigration during President Trump's second term. By contrast, Vice President Harris' campaign offers few substantive ideas, even though the Democratic platform states: Learn more.
Immigration and border crisis remain serious issues biggest concern For Americans. If Harris is elected, her top priority must be to reduce disruption at the border. The confusion is undermining public support for immigration, putting immigrants at risk, and clogging up bloated legal immigration bureaucracies.
A Trump presidency will bring unprecedented border enforcement, mass deportations across the country, and obstruction of the legal immigration system. Harris must reject such extremism, but she must also counter progressives. side of aisle Those who refuse to compromise on asylum.
The consensus of the American people is clear. Tougher on illegal immigration and easier on legal immigration. Ms. Harris's mission is to pass historic border security legislation, resolve the crisis, and restore bipartisan agreement through pragmatic immigration controls and rational skilled immigration that serves the American people.
In her keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, Harris referenced the Lankford-Murphy border compromise, saying: states“As President, I will reinstate the bipartisan border security bill he introduced. [Donald Trump] If he is killed, he will sign it into law. ” She must make good on this promise, and immigration advocates must demand legislation that changes the law, limits asylum eligibility, increases funding, and fixes the problem. Opposing such bills only weakens their cause. We need strong and secure borders, orderly processes, the rejection of invalid asylum claims and the deportation of criminals.
This legislation is key to restoring public trust in immigrants who benefit the American way of life. Only Congress can act decisively on the border, and its continued failure to do so risks endangering immigration, a central pillar of our nation. Addressing border security allows Harris, Congressional Democrats and moderate Republicans to neutralize politics and prioritize the public interest over partisan politics.
If the border crisis drags on, long-term public support for immigration is at risk. Most Americans oppose open borders and chaotic, unregulated asylum. While they support immigration, they reject large-scale illegal immigration. Failure to secure the border will empower immigration restrictionists, play into the hands of extremists, and tarnish the image of the pro-immigration movement. The truth is that few Americans support the open borders approach advocated by asylum hardliners.
Borders are the biggest immigration challenge, but policy is not just about asylum. President Trump's advisers drafted new executive orders and policy memos to eliminate legal immigration during his second term. That idea reflects the views of extremists and is not sound public policy. Harris can pursue reforms that streamline legal immigration, serve U.S. interests and promote bipartisan agreement. She can restore public trust and benefit both immigrants and Americans. After she negotiates the border bill, we recommend four major administration proposals.
First, Mr. Harris is administrativelyrecaptureAll legally available green cards. Cumulative administrative errors have left hundreds of thousands of unused green card slots that Congress has approved as available for replacement. Recovering unused green cards and preventing green cards from becoming unused in the future would create billions of dollars in economic activity and billions of dollars in net revenue while also eliminating the visas Congress intended. Help you assign.
Second, the Harris Administration should provide H-2B, H-2A, and J-1 visa referrals in: safe mobility office. The United States should offer work visas at these offices to qualified applicants. We need to start seeking and translating the labor skills of all applicants to have a chance of being considered by potential employers, and we also need to significantly expand the availability of labor skills. . CBP One To collect detailed information about people attempting to book an appointment at a border or office. Providing expanded labor channels is critical to addressing domestic labor shortages and meeting the region's economic migrant needs.
Third, Harris could expand the U.S. refugee program to at least 250,000 people. The administration plans to resettle 100,000 refugees this year, the highest number in 30 years. The United States has enough capacity to take in more refugees. The Harris administration also Welcome Corps“Welcome Corps on Campus” and “Welcome Corps at Work” programs to better leverage the private sector.
Finally, Harris can expand the J-1 au pair program. The United States is currently facing a “care crisis” for the elderly. To alleviate this, a potential Harris administration could expand the J-1 au pair program to include elderly care. Such regulatory adjustments could help ease the burden on caregivers and reduce the cost of care.
Updated Schedule A list, finalized H-1B rules, expanded J-1 skills list, expanded domestic visa revalidation pilot program, provided work authorization to O-3 visa holders, and several others. The government's proposals are also worth noting. Qualify for healthcare degrees in nursing and medicine STEM OPT extension. These are the types of volatile, technical fixes that won't make headlines but will move our immigration system forward in a modern and agile way.
Immigration strengthens America, but our immigration system must align with our national interests by strengthening what benefits America and cutting what does not. By leveraging immigration policy to advance domestic and foreign policy goals, Ms. Harris could help rebuild the consensus our nation urgently needs on this issue.
President Harris must move to limit border disruption, streamline skilled immigration, and restore bipartisan agreement on this issue. Supporting a pragmatic approach to borders and security, combined with an innovative and fresh approach to far-reaching reforms, offers the best opportunity for change we have seen in decades.
Christy De Pena is the Niskanen Center's senior vice president for policy, and Matthew La Corte is the Niskanen Center's deputy director for immigration policy.
