OPINION PIECES

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The politics around immigration are historically difficult and perhaps never more than this moment where global migration fueled by economic disparities, public health emergencies, weather disasters and political instability has overwhelmed governments around the world, including our own. But one of the major reasons for our own internal chaos is the fact that we cannot even pick leaders to run our own immigration agencies.

Imagine this: It’s July of 2007, and after exhausting negotiations, the biggest piece of immigration legislation in decades — the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 — has passed the Senate and House with bipartisan votes of 63-37 and 252-180, respectively and is on its way to President George W. Bush’s desk for signature. Of course, that legislative achievement never happened.

After turning 21 years old, some U.S.-raised kids must leave the country after falling out of status.

In the months following Russia’s winter invasion of Ukraine, President Biden announced the U.S. would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians and established “Uniting for Ukraine,” a program that streamlines and expands the humanitarian parole process for Ukrainians to gain admittance to America.

You could have a spirited argument over which public policy debate in the United States has been plagued the most by gridlock and partisanship, but guns and immigration would surely be two top examples.

Farmers need congressional action to hire enough workers and stave off shortages

Today’s U.S. military is facing a personnel deficit that is affecting our nation’s readiness and threatening our national security. But if our leaders are willing to act, there’s an obvious solution to this problem: immigrants.

As we head quickly toward the 2022 midterm elections, our national stalemate on immigration policy remains one of the most destructive versions of ‘Groundhog Day’ that our country’s political class has ever created.

In July, 200,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern U.S. border, a 21-year high, according to an analysis by Pew Research. It’s no surprise that this unprecedented, post-COVID-19 surge in migration has stretched our immigration, asylum and border systems to the breaking point.

Afghans fleeing the Taliban need support and legal status

A significant part of the story behind the United States’ incredible Covid-19 vaccination development success is an immigration story.

The focus should be on welcoming refugees, not fearmongering.

Congress must act now

Amid the contentiousness of our national debate on immigration policy, consensus has emerged on one issue: "Dreamers." Children brought to the U.S. by their parents, through no fault of their own, deserve a right to stay in our country as Americans.

The clock is ticking ever louder for our Afghan allies.

The dismantling of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) by the Trump administration under the false pretense that refugee resettlement is incompatible with national security has been heartbreaking.

The large numbers of migrants seeking safety in the United States pose a serious humanitarian crisis. But, believe it or not, they also present an unprecedented opportunity.

As members of Congress watch thousands of asylum seekers, many of them children, risk their lives to enter the United States each day, it would be tempting to argue that essential immigration reforms must wait until the crisis at the border is resolved.

Exaggerated claims of terrorists arriving clouds the real debate we need to have about immigration policy.

President-elect Joe Biden has indicated he will rescind the travel and refugee bans
President Trump enacted through Executive Order (EO) 13780 and Proclamation 9645.1
I join many in the national security community in applauding this intended action. These
bans damaged our nation’s reputation and were an unnecessary distraction from needed
security enhancements. However, as a national security official who participated in
screening and vetting enhancements and the implementation of the travel bans, I urge the
Biden administration to leverage some of the security enhancements that accompanied EO
13780 and Proclamation 9645 to make our country even safer.

Note: This brief is part of a series of papers, Insider Perspectives: National Security and Immigration, exploring the intersection between national security and immigration issues. 

I have spent the better part of the last 15 years working on border security efforts, both in the United States and abroad. First as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush for Border and Transportation Security, and more recently as an investor and board member of Persistent Sentinel, a US-based company that has managed a significant piece of the Jordan-Syria land border security program for more than ten years. The one constant truth that I have learned is that security threats evolve. Therefore, you should design a security solution to address future threats, not one to fight the last war.

With the 2012 elections behind us, now is the time for leaders from both the legislative and executive branches to come together in a bipartisan manner and address our nation's urgent needs. One is comprehensive immigration reform.

The recently enacted immigration law in Arizona has inflamed both sides in the apparently endless immigration reform debate. We know firsthand how tough it is to fashion a workable solution that appeases the hardcore activists on either side. Even so, the Arizona law, the latest of a number of recently proposed or adopted state laws related to immigration enforcement, highlights the need for reform at the federal level.

Recent events have refocused attention on American border security. Drug violence spreading north across the Rio Grande River, a potential pandemic flu that originated in Mexico and possible consideration of a comprehensive immigration bill later this year all point to a growing need to openly and honestly discuss this national imperative.