President Biden Can’t Cave to the MAGA Immigration Agenda

The Biden administration, led by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, created safe, lawful, and orderly pathways for immigration to the U.S. and equip new immigrants with the tools they need to become contributing members of society. That kind of system would meet the moment by embracing people coming to the U.S. and immigrants who already live here as a source of strength for the country, and not a threat.

As President Joe Biden has reminded us many times, we must hold fast to the promise of America as a nation of immigrants and a multiracial democracy—and not a nation of walls, bans, cages, and deportations. The soul of the country is at stake.

Congress is on a path to enact the most xenophobic changes to our immigration laws in a century. And it may do so with President Biden and Senate Democrats’ blessing.

Republicans have demanded that Democrats agree to a suite of extremist, anti-immigrant policies as ransom for temporary aid for Ukraine—aid that Ukraine needs to fight the war against Russia. It’s unclear if Republicans are making this demand in good faith and that enough members of the caucus would fund Ukraine under any circumstances. But for the Republicans who mean it, the goal is clear: to force President Biden and Democrats to enact a holiday wish list of policies dreamed up by the Trump administration and co-sign the MAGA agenda.

Democrats must say no. Anything else would be unconscionable policy and disastrous politics. Republicans are demanding permanent changes to our laws that advance two xenophobic goals: keeping new immigrants out and deporting immigrants who live here. In return, Democrats would get no concessions on their longstanding immigration priorities, like granting citizenship to Dreamers and the undocumented. These are red lines for young voters, voters of color, and progressive voters that President Biden and the Democrats must not cross.

What are the Republicans’ demands? To start, Republicans would close the border to people seeking asylum and renege on the U.S.’ commitment since World War II to provide refuge from persecution. They would deny asylum to anyone who travels through another country on the way to the U.S. and put annual caps on asylum—regardless of whether the person has a legitimate claim to protection. They would lock moms and kids up in detention centers, force migrants to apply for asylum from dangerous border towns in Mexico, and separate families. These changes would shut the door to people seeking safety and a better life.

But make no mistake, the changes Republicans want go far beyond asylum. Republicans have demanded the mass deportation of people already living inside the U.S. through the expansion of expedited removal. This “show me your papers” law would empower federal immigration agents to deport anyone they decide is undocumented and hasn’t lived in the country for two years—without any hearing before a judge.

This will all but guarantee the racial profiling and unlawful arrest and deportation of Black and brown people across the U.S. Republicans would end humanitarian parole, which provides safe and legal pathways for people to come to the U.S. and integrate into society, as the Biden administration, led by DHS Secretary Mayorkas, has done for migrants from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and countries in Central America. And finally, Republicans would empower future presidents to suspend the immigration laws by fiat, including the visas we grant people to reunite with family, study, and work in the U.S.

These laws would be a catastrophic sea-change for our country. First, the human impact would be devastating. Families and communities would be ripped apart—especially communities of color. Scores of migrants with legitimate claims to protection would be refused entry at the border. Others would be locked up in detention camps on a scale our country has not seen since the Japanese internment.

Second, these changes would last for generations. The federal courts blocked much of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. But if Congress were to make these policies law now, the courts would have little power to save us. And once these changes are normalized by Democrats, they will set a new low that will be enormously difficult to change through future legislation.

Third, a deal here would set a terrible near-term precedent. We know Republicans are prepared to enact the MAGA agenda by any means necessary, including by shutting down the federal government. If Democrats reward Republican brinkmanship here, they will have signaled that they’re ready to trade permanent and extremist policy changes for short-term funding in the future. So what’s next? If Democrats give in on fairness and due process today, why wouldn’t the Republicans seek concessions on abortion and reproductive freedom, LGBTQ rights, workers’ rights, racial justice, environmental protections, criminal legal reforms, and access to food stamps and other benefits tomorrow? Caving to Republicans’ ransom demands imperils all Americans’ rights and freedoms.

Finally, a deal would be politically disastrous for Democrats and President Biden. President Biden promised on the campaign trail to chart a new course on immigration after four traumatic years under Trump. Adopting Trump’s policies as his own would be a complete about-face and betray the promises he made to the electorate. Young voters, voters of color, and progressive voters in battleground states who want a fair and humane immigration system would reasonably ask, what’s the point of voting for Biden when his policies are identical to his predecessors?

Democrats must not let Republicans splinter their coalition and lead the country down a slippery slope where we lose more of our freedoms. Instead, Democrats should stand up for American values, reject MAGA Republican demands, and fight for an immigration system we can all believe in.

Lorella Praeli is co-president of Community Change and Community Change Action.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.