Americas

Senate Border Bill is a Missed Opportunity and Will Harm Refugees

The closed-door formulation of the bill excluded input from elected officials and affected communities, causing it to miss much of what is needed to meaningfully improve conditions at the border, reception of asylum seekers in the United States, or protections for displaced people within the Americas. Notably, the bill does not expand processing capacity at land border ports of entry or include steps to better coordinate reception of asylum seekers moving from the U.S. border to interior cities.

With Mounting Global Humanitarian Needs, It’s Past Time to Refocus Budget Negotiations 

A good-faith approach to address rising asylum claims is possible – but it will not be achieved by legislative hostage-taking amid a charged political atmosphere. And the contours of the current deal under negotiation are just bad policy: further restricting access to asylum, expelling more people at the border, and curtailing the use of humanitarian parole authority would evade the responsibility to protect, increase insecurity at the border, and drive-up unauthorized crossings.