IMMIGRATION REFORM

Problem

America’s immigration system is failing — not by accident, but by design.

The Crisis in Numbers

• 10+ million cases stuck in backlogs across USCIS and immigration courts

• Family visas take 10–20 years for some countries.

• Fewer than 800 immigration judges handle millions of cases.

• Visa caps have been frozen since the 1980s, despite the economy doubling in size.

• 5+ million undocumented essential workers

  • Over 25% of all farmworkers

  • Tens of thousands in:

    • Food service

    • Construction & logistics

    • Healthcare, caregiving, elder care

• Immigrants pay $100+ billion in taxes annually.

• Immigrants start businesses at 2x the rate of U.S.-born residents.

• 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children

• 16 million people live in mixed-status families

• U.S.-born kids live under trauma from raids, arrests, and deportations.

• There is no national strategy to meet workforce needs, reunite families, or integrate new arrivals.

The system isn’t “broken” — it’s outdated, underfunded, punitive, and economically self-defeating.

Solutions

1. Create Pathways to Citizenship

• Citizenship for:

  • Dreamers & DACA holders

  • TPS recipients

  • Long-term undocumented residents with clean records

• End 3- and 10-year reentry bars

• Legalize parents of U.S. citizen children.

• Reinstate and modernize large-scale legalization similar to 1986

Impact: Families stay together, millions integrate openly, and employers stop exploiting fear.

2. Clear the Backlog

• Hire thousands more immigration judges, attorneys, and clerks.

• Fully digitize case systems.

• Guaranteed legal representation for asylum seekers and children

• Resolve cases within months, not decades.

Impact: Faster decisions + lower detention costs + restored integrity.

3. Update Work Visas to Match Reality

• Modernize quotas to reflect current workforce needs.

• New or expanded visas for:

  • Farm and food system workers

  • Caregivers and healthcare support

  • Logistics and manufacturing

  • Green energy and rebuild-the-grid jobs

  • Climate-displaced people

• Immediate work authorization for asylum seekers

Impact: Fill job shortages legally; stop exploitation in black-market labor systems.

4. Reunite Families

• Reduce wait times and remove restrictive country caps.

• Streamline:

  • Spouses

  • Parents

  • Siblings

  • Adult children

• No enforcement in schools, hospitals, churches, or shelters

Impact: Stable families mean stable communities, healthier children, and better outcomes.

5. Protect Refugees and Honor Asylum Law

• Guarantee access to asylum processing

• No mass expulsions or deterrence-through-suffering

• Replace private detention with a nonprofit and community-based reception.

• Expand protection for:

  • LGBTQ refugees

  • Gender-based violence survivors

  • Climate refugees

  • Stateless people

Impact: Safe, lawful pathways replace chaos, cruelty, and smuggling.

6. Stop Criminalizing Immigration

• Treat immigration violations as civil, not criminal.

• Shift money from:

  • Raids

  • Detention

  • Mass deportation
    to:

  • Processing

  • Case management

  • Legal pathways

• End police–ICE coordination and data pipelines

Impact: Trust returns between families, workers, and local institutions.

7. Invest in Integration

• Expand:

  • English language programs

  • Adult workforce training

  • Community navigator services

• Recognize foreign credentials so professionals can work:

  • Nurses

  • Physicians

  • Teachers

  • Engineers

• Support immigrant-owned small businesses with grants and technical assistance.

Impact: Immigrants transition faster, earn more, and boost local economies.

Bottom Line

Immigration is a driver of America’s strength, not a burden.

We fix the system by:

• Legalizing long-term residents

• Clearing backlogs and modernizing visas

• Treating families with dignity

• Expanding lawful pathways instead of expanding border militarization

• Ending criminalization and exploitation

• Integrating immigrants into schools, workplaces, and communities

Immigrants are already essential to America’s economy, culture, and future.

Policy should recognize — not punish — that truth.