MIGRANTSSome Cities See Migrants as a ‘Lifeline.’ Policy Could Follow, Experts Say.
As congressional leaders wrestle with potential solutions as part of a larger spending agreement, a former top national immigration official offered a proposal: Fund basic help for migrants at the border and in destination cities, send them where they’re wanted and can get jobs, and make quick decisions on asylum to discourage mass entry.
As southern border states struggle with a record flow of asylum-seekers, major destination cities such as Chicago, Denver and New York City continue to ask for more federal help to handle the bus riders sent by Texas and Arizona.
“Our cities are working shoulder-to-shoulder to support newcomers, but it’s time for the federal government to increase work authorization, create a coordinated entry strategy, and provide more federal dollars,” Denver Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston wrote in a recent statement.
Last week, as congressional leaders wrestled with potential solutions as part of a larger spending agreement, a former top national immigration official offered a proposal: Fund basic help for migrants at the border and in destination cities, send them where they’re wanted and can get jobs, and make quick decisions on asylum to discourage mass entry.
Quick decisions are key, said Doris Meissner, who headed the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service during the Clinton administration. She co-authored a new report released by the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., that analyzes immigration policy.
“If you can make decisions in weeks or months instead of years, you can really have a functioning system,” Meissner said in an interview. “The problem right now is these decisions take years to make and by the time you get a decision, people have already sunk roots in the community and removal becomes far more unlikely.”
The proposal is something border communities in Texas very much want, since state officials have been hostile to any help for migrants crossing the border, said David Stout, a Democratic county commissioner in El Paso County.
The funding and coordination proposed by MPI and Meissner “are exactly the kind of solutions we need and that Republicans have been blocking,” Stout said. “We are trying our best at the local level, with some federal support, but it’s difficult with interference on the part of some political leaders and some states like Texas.”
As policymakers search for answers, states have increased confrontations over the issue in recent weeks.
This month, New York City sued charter bus companies used by Texas to send migrants, seeking $708 million in costs for caring for the new residents. New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy warned bus operators from Louisiana and Texas not to drop off passengers in that state without notice; many have done so to avoid New York City restrictions.
