Immediate Release:
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Press Contact: [email protected]
IWV Statement on White House Plan to Modernize U.S. Immigration System
Prioritizing National Security and Rewarding Merit Helps Americans and Migrants
Washington, D.C. – Today, the White House took an important and welcomed step forward in addressing both the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border and our broken immigration system overall. As an organization committed to national security and the rule of law, Independent Women’s Voice (IWV) supports any plan that aims to stop the flood of migrants crossing our southern border illegally, while overhauling parts of our immigration system to prioritize education and skills, without changing immigration levels.
“For too long Washington has used the promise of immigration reform as a political tool, but come short of enacting real reforms to end illegal immigration,” said IWV senior policy analyst Patrice Onwuka. “As a result, drug smugglers and human traffickers exploit our immigration laws, making it into a big, money-making enterprise. Women and children place themselves at risk of sexual assault just trying to cross our southern border. Border patrol is understaffed and our immigration justice system is overwhelmed with a backlog of nearly a million cases. Meanwhile, the legal migration process is undermined by those who take advantage of our asylum laws.”
Illegal immigration places our national security at risk; it poses public safety and health concerns for our communities; and, it impacts the wages of low-skilled workers.
There is bipartisan desire to shape a system that prioritizes our national security and economic interests, while rewarding those who respect our laws, work hard, and demonstrate merit with the opportunity for a new and better life in the United States.
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Independent Women’s Voice fights for women and their loved ones by effectively expanding support among women, independents, and millennials for policy solutions that aren’t just well-intended, but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.