The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is committed to protecting the American people and securing the border by upholding immigration laws. To achieve this, DHS is taking steps to tackle cartels, smugglers, and other criminal elements. These measures include prosecuting all individuals who cross the border illegally, constructing the first new border wall in a decade, and deploying the National Guard to the border. Not only will this help the United States better manage its own borders, but it will also serve as an example for other countries, providing asylum seekers with more resettlement options than they currently have.
A modern and improved humanitarian protection system will also reduce the political backlash against asylum seekers at a time when anti-migrant sentiment is on the rise.
Border Security in Southern Arizona
has been a major concern for state politicians for many years. To address these worries, the administration should strive to seek and allocate more funding through FEMA, EFSP, and the Shelter and Services Program. This will provide essential humanitarian and logistical support in receiving communities and at the border and beyond.In particular, if there is no political will for completely non-privative processing options after CBP, some people may go through the credible fear process in these centers. Due to the long wait for Title 42 to end and the dangerous conditions in northern Mexico, many asylum seekers choose to cross the border and turn themselves in to the Border Patrol. Investing in infrastructure for processing humanitarian cases at the border and in host communities will reduce unexpected tax burdens, limit pressure on law enforcement resources, and improve human rights. To restore a process that respects rights at the border and for asylum seekers in general, Congress should expand the Refugee Act of 1980 and remove the harsh limitations on judicial review included in the IIRIRA.
Senator Kelly has visited Arizona's southern border seven times during his term in office and taken steps to ensure that it is safe and secure while also being humane. In July, the federal government announced a plan to close some breaches in Arizona's southern border wall. Specific parole programs and alternative routes can reduce irregular migration while also benefiting those who seek safety or a better life in the United States but have no other way of accessing it than through the asylum system at the southern border. Senator Kelly's campaign has pointed to votes where he supported policies such as electronic verification, provided more funding, and lobbied for judges to be prepared.
Increasing capacity to process humanitarian requests is an important way to prevent migrants from being deprived of their rights in Border Patrol custody and allowing agents to specialize in specific law enforcement tasks other than humanitarian processing. When migrants arrive in America and are stopped by CBP before being released at the border or from a detention center, they often need immediate assistance to get transportation to their final destination.
