Legislative Alert

Estimates are that there are between ten and twelve million people living in the United States from other countries, who do not have permission to live and work here. ICE raids have terrorized these people and many others argue they should be allowed to stay if they are not criminals. We often hear folks say, “my family did it the right way….these people didn’t, so it is okay if they are deported.” This attitude raises a number of questions. First, is it true that our ancestors came “the right way?” Is the comparison of how people came in years past to the system today even fair? How has the U.S. accumulated so many people who don’t have permission to live here? Lets take a look.

People immigrate for many reasons, including to escape hardship and to find better opportunities for themselves and their families. Throughout history, they have always done so. How do they get in to the United States? A small percentage of people who are affluent and educated, hire lawyers to navigate the byzantine immigration system for them. But what about the people who cannot afford that? While estimates vary, it appears that between 40 and 50% of the undocumented population living  in the country today did not cross the southern border at all. Instead, they flew into the U.S. on tourist visas and simply stayed when their visas expired.[1] Neither a border wall nor expensive surveillance tools will stop people from entering the country this way.

The rest of the undocumented people in the U.S. either entered the country surreptitiously and were not detected, or approached an official border crossing and requested some kind of humanitarian relief – most often, asylum. It can take many months or years to get a decision on an asylum claim. During the waiting time, those people who were allowed into the country were permitted to work and to build family and community around them.[2] When asylum claims are denied, as happens much of the time, some of the applicants simply ignore the decisions and remain in the country anyway, living in a kind of underground existence, no longer permitted to work legally or access other social benefits.[3]

Why do people ignore the system – either entering the country surreptitiously or, when allowed in to seek asylum, ignoring immigration decisions against them? There are two reasons for this. First, the U.S. immigration system is so difficult to comprehend and navigate, and the chances of success so small, that people decide they have no other choice but to ignore it. And second, they perceive that living an underground existence in this country is preferable to what they were escaping in their homelands.

Are people correct in saying their ancestors did things “the right way” and thus they (as descendants born in the country) are more deserving of citizenship status? The unfortunate answer to these questions is that until the late 1800s, there existed virtually no immigration system at all – and thus anyone who could get to the U.S. stayed here.

All of the European settlers came to what is now the United States without asking for permission from the people already here, usually to escape something or to live freely as they wished. In the 1800s, people from China and other parts of Asia came to this country to work in mining and to build the railroads. Their work was essential to the development of the country but they were not welcomed or seen as equally human. They faced horrific persecution and violent resistance to being allowed to stay. As a result of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, signed by President Chester A. Arthur, the first real immigration restriction in this country, Chinese immigrants were expressly defined in the law as inferior to Whites, were not allowed to testify in court, and were prevented from ever becoming naturalized US citizens. This Act was not revoked until 1943 and even then, immigration from Asia was still severely restricted until the 1960s.

Migrants from Italy, Ireland and Germany came to these shores in the early 1900s, often as a result of poverty and religious persecution. They got on ships and asked to be allowed to stay when they arrived. Most of them came right in. When people say that undocumented people in the U.S. today “broke the law,” and that “my family came here the right way, following the rules,” the obvious question is, when did your ancestors come? What laws did they followed? The fact is, most of our ancestors, and certainly those who came before the 1920s, did not have to comply with any rules. Most of our ancestors would not qualify for entry into the country under today’s rules.

Here are the most basic things you should know about our present immigration law and legal system:

1. U.S. immigration law is not full of “loopholes” that allow people to flood into the country. U.S. immigration law is tightly regulated and heavily policed. The process is full of landmines that regularly cause people who are trying to comply with the law, to fall off the path. Under U.S. law today, it is exceptionally difficult for anyone to migrate to live and work long-term in the U.S. as a permanent resident. Without an experienced lawyer, it is close to impossible.
2. There are only four roads under the law:

• Family-based migration, which some derogatorily called “chain migration,” is based on the long-standing, culturally shared American value that families belong together. This road allows U.S. citizens and permanent residents (aka “green card holders”) to sponsor a relative to migrate to the United States. Family based migration is limited by law to 226,000 people per year. This is such a small number for a country of 347 million people that in practice, it means that the process to migrate this way can take decades. If you have been led to believe that new immigrants arrive and then bring busloads of family members in a “chain,” it is not true. Family-based migration doesn’t help anyone who is trying to escape from real-time threats to life.
• Employment-based migration is even more limited—to 140,000 persons per year. It is available (on other than a temporary, non-immigrant, basis) only to professionals and other highly skilled persons through a corporate sponsor, who can prove that no one already in the country can do the job. All the rest of the folks who come to this country to work, either come in without being detected, or obtain non-immigrant short-term visas, with no possibility of staying long-term.
• The diversity lottery, is a program Congress started in the 1980s to help Irish people who had flown to the U.S. to escape “the Troubles,” who overstayed their tourist visas. It eventually became a broader, annual event, and now allows a tiny number of people (50,000 per year) to migrate from countries with small populations in the U.S. The program doesn’t provide a way out of real-time persecution and suffering for anyone.
• Humanitarian relief, (which includes asylum, refugee status, SIJS and a few other categories). This is the only road that potentially benefits people who are escaping difficult circumstances and trying to save their own lives. Contrary to what many people believe, the U.S. grants humanitarian relief in very few cases. We routinely turn away people we know to be suffering, who we know have fled terrible persecution and life-and-death situations, because the kind of persecution they experienced – meaning the motivations of their persecutors, is not the “right kind” of persecution under our laws.

That’s it.  Those are the four “roads.” Each of the four roads can potentially lead . . . eventually . . .to the chance to apply for lawful permanent resident (green card) status.  Once a person has a green card, they may apply for citizenship in five years.

What about DACA? What about TPS?” Those two programs are not and were never “roads” to staying in the U.S. long term as a lawful permanent resident or to become a citizen. Each is temporary. Neither leads to any long term rights.

DACA was conceived in 2012 by the Obama Administration out of frustration that Congress would not change the law to provide a “road” for kids who were brought to the country by adults, when the kids were too young to be legally responsible. But DACA was not law. It was not passed by Congress, which is the way laws come about in this country. DACA was quite limited in what it offered, though applicants told themselves it would lead to much more. DACA stood for “Deferred Action/Childhood Arrivals.” The “Deferred Action” was the applicants’ deportation. The trade off to get “Deferred Action” for kids who had previously been living under the radar was “we will give you a social security number and a short-term work permit, if you “give us all your information, including biometrics, so we can find you more easily later, when the deferral is over.” The DACA program was challenged in the court as beyond the authority of the president. It is not available anymore for new applicants and those who obtained it are living in peril.

TPS, which is actually found in U.S. law, is a short term status that can be offered in the discretion of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, for short periods of time (6-18 months), due to emergency conditions in the home country that the U.S. believes temporarily prevent a country’s nationals who happen to be in the U.S. from returning to their home country. TPS includes a short-term work permit and the obligation to go home when the U.S. government decides the emergency has ended. TPS never offered a pathway to permanent residence in this country. For folks who have benefitted from repeated extensions of the 6-18 month TPS periods across presidential administrations, the expectation of being able to stay forever has arisen. But it was always illusory. TPS – which has the word “temporary” in its very name, exists in U.S. law for short-term periods and has always been at the discretion of appointees of the president.The current Trump administration has announced the end of TPS for people from Venezuela, Honduras, Afghanistan, Haiti and Cameroon.

[1] Measuring the Number of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States: A review of the Residual Estimation Method, Harriet Dunleep, Dave Shoffner, Robert V. Gesumaria and Christopher R. Tamborini, Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 85, No. 2, June 2025, https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v85n2/v85n2p1.html

[2] The average time-to-decision for an asylum claim at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service is more than six years. The average time-to-decision in Immigration Court (formally called the Executive Office of Immigration Review or “EOIR”) is 4.3 years. National Immigration Forum Explainer: Asylum Backlogs, January 23, 2024, https://immigrationforum.org/article/explainer-asylum-backlogs

[3] In 2023, the national average rate of denial of asylum claims was 43%. In April 2025, approximately 80% of asylum claims were denied. Austin Kocher, The Asylum Denial Machine, June 19, 2025. https://austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-asylum-denial-machine.

Each day brings to light more disturbing stories of non-citizens who are arrested and detained without apparent cause, often at gunpoint by masked law enforcement. Respecting the dignity and rights of non-citizens is essential to preserving not only our democracy, but also our decency and humanity as a nation, which, after all, is a nation of immigrants. Your voice has never been more important, and we urge you to contact your elected officials in support of the rights of all people, regardless of immigration status, to due process and humane treatment.

1. EMAIL YOUR SENATORS TODAY

Go to https://democracy.io/#!/ and enter your address. After clicking submit, you will see your representatives listed. You can choose all or some. Click “Write to Them,” and the next screen is a form where you can enter what you want to say and other pertinent information. In addition to the suggested text below, be sure to insert personalized information as you would like to communicate.

“My name is [insert name] and as your constituent from [City/Town] and a [person of faith/refugee/member of my community], I urge my Senator to vote NO on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” This bill would strip essential food and health programs from vulnerable communities and increase funding for ICE raids, detention, and deportation that are already out of control. I urge the Senator to speak out against provisions in the bill that:

• Strip Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP from vulnerable communities, including cutting Medicaid for millions of Americans and eliminating access to Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP from refugees, asylees, TPS holders, humanitarian parolees, and others.
• Dramatically increase funding for immigration enforcement. ICE is already causing unnecessary fear in my community by targeting loved ones at their schools, jobs, places of worship, and homes. This funding would boost ICE raids, enable indefinite family detention, and tear families apart.
• Attack unaccompanied children and asylum seekers. I oppose the bill’s large fees on humanitarian applications that would price out those who are seeking asylum or reuniting with children who are in government custody.

Rather than supporting this harmful legislation, Congress has a moral imperative to pass a budget that invests in nutrition, healthcare, education, housing, and safety for our communities, including people uprooted from their homes. My community stands with refugees, newcomers, and other marginalized communities – and I urge you to do the same so that everyone in our state can thrive.”

Script provided by CWS.

2. CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE TODAY

Find your representatives phone number by visiting Commoncause.org and entering your address. It will then show you all of your representatives and their phone numbers. You can use the suggested script below, but be sure to personalize your message as well.

“My name is [insert name] and as your constituent from [City/Town] and a [person of faith/refugee/member of my community], I urge your office to vote NO on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

This package is deeply troubling because it pours even more money into ICE raids, detention, and deportation—which are already out of control—while gutting vital services like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP for millions of people.

Rather than supporting this harmful legislation, Congress has a moral imperative to pass a budget that invests in nutrition, healthcare, education, housing, and safety for our communities, including people uprooted from their homes. My community stands with refugees, newcomers, and other marginalized communities – and I urge you to do the same. Thank you.”

Script provided by CWS.

3. AMPLIFY ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Share this message with political leaders on social media! To find your legislator’s social media handles, visit Triagecancer.org. (Note: The page from this site is shared for informational purposes only. IILA does not endorse any other specific content from this site.)