Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today unveiled his recommendations for managing migration and refugees in the Western Hemisphere. The Menendez Plan provides the Biden Administration with a sustainable and structural response to migration in the region that will reduce pressure on the U.S. southwest border.
“For the last year, I have repeatedly expressed concerns over the Biden Administration’s decision to implement short-term deterrence policies that fail to address the cycle of irregular migration at our southwest border,” said Sen. Menendez. “My plan provides a set of policies that will secure our borders without sacrificing our domestic and legal obligations to asylum seekers by working with partners in the region to give people alternative options to illegal smuggling networks. This plan largely includes policies that President Biden can pursue without Congress, until Republicans decide to come to the table and help the administration manage the current challenge.”
The United States has traditionally viewed the Western Hemisphere’s migration and refugee challenges through the narrow lens of what is happening at the U.S. southwest border. Successive U.S. administrations have designed their domestic and foreign policies to respond to shifting needs at the border, an approach that has not created a sustainable long-term solution to a mixed flow of migrants and refugees. Our nation’s migration approach is enforcement-driven, reactive, and overly focused on punitive policies to deter migrants once they arrive at our borders; however, the region’s challenges require a comprehensive U.S. approach that recognizes individual country conditions that drive irregular migration. This strategic reframing of migration management would also generate economic benefits in the U.S. and throughout the region.
The Menendez Plan proposes four pillars to effectively manage migration in the Americas, from addressing the drivers of migration in the region to establishing border policies that maintain order and safety for migrants, refugees, and law enforcement alike:
- Create New Legal Pathways and Expand Existing Pathways to Reduce Pressure at the Southwestern Border
- Increase Resources at the Border to Process Asylum Seekers and Remove People without Legal Claims to Stay in the U.S.
- Expand Humanitarian Assistance and Develop Financing to Better Integrate Migrants & Refugees in Countries Across the America
- Elevate Efforts to Counter Transnational Criminal Organizations Involved in Human Trafficking & Smuggling
In an interview on CNN This Morning, Sen. Menendez discussed the plan with anchor Poppy Harlow.
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[CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL INTERVIEW]
Senator Menendez, a life-long advocate for Latinos and immigrant families in New Jersey and across the nation, has fought to fundamentally transform the nation’s immigration system for decades. For his entire career in Congress, Senator Menendez has put forward major reforms to our immigration system, and been a longtime champion for providing 11 million undocumented immigrants with a pathway to citizenship, addressing the root causes of migration, and effectively securing our borders.
Senator Menendez has led Congressional efforts to reverse inhumane and ineffective Trump-era immigration policies, such as Title 42 and Remain in Mexico – urging the Biden Administration to end failed border security policies designed by the previous Administration to evade the nation’s domestic and international legal obligations to asylum seekers and to create chaos at the border. Following the Biden Administration’s decision to expand Title 42 expulsions to new nationalities and propose a new transit ban rule earlier this year, Sen. Menendez led a letter with more than 80 colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives condemning the Administration’s actions.
Find a copy of the Menendez Plan at menendez.senate.gov/MenendezPlan.
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