New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday led a nine-governor coalition calling for federal action on immigration.
In a letter to the White House and Congressional leaders, Hochul and eight colleagues from across the nation call for $1.4 billion in aid to states and localities, as well as a comprehensive border security legislative package.
The nine-governor coalition, led by Hochul, includes Governors Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Gavin Newsom of California, Jared Polis of Colorado, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.
The letter was addressed to President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“As governors representing over 100 million Americans, we write to call on Washington to work together to solve what has become a humanitarian crisis,” the letter says. “The sustained arrival of individuals seeking asylum and requiring shelter and assistance, due to lack of Congressional action on infrastructure and policies, can only be addressed with federal organizational support and funding to meet the public safety and humanitarian needs of our local communities.
“With ongoing conflicts around the world, global migration is at a historic high,” the letter adds. “States and cities cannot indefinitely respond to the subsequent strain on state and local resources without Congressional action.”
The governors write that communities along the southern border of the United States – as well as interior states and cities across the country – “lack the vast coordinated infrastructure needed to respond to the humanitarian and public safety concerns of those seeking lawful entry into the United States.
“America needs a federal solution that supports our economy, immigrants and fixes our immigration system,” they urge, noting that, last year, President Biden put forward a $106 billion supplemental funding request to address immediate national security concerns, including $4.4 billion in “desperately needed funding for a robust, federal migration strategy with $1.4 billion in aid to states and localities.”
The governors say those funds would provide support to federal agencies for additional personnel to increase border security, add staff to accelerate processing times and eligibility determinations, and increase removal proceedings for those ineligible to stay in the United States.
“While political motivations continue to delay the negotiations, our economy, states and localities are bearing the brunt of the shortcomings of the existing immigration system,” the governors warn.
“Therefore, as you return to Washington to resume work on critical federal funding measures, we strongly urge Congress and the Administration to quickly negotiate an agreement on a border security legislative package that includes federal coordination and decompression at the southern and northern borders; federal funding for both border and interior states and cities receiving new arrivals; and a serious commitment to modernizing our immigration system in the United States,” they add.
The governors say that the President’s supplemental request provides “a minimum level of funding and actions that will allow the United States to begin transformational reforms to its immigration system and uphold the principles of democracy that America was built upon.”
They note that while the Biden Administration has made important progress in managing immigration at the Southwest border, the number of migrants arriving in states and cities seeking emergency shelter continues to increase “at record pace.”
They say states and cities have spent billions to address “inaction by Congress and match these challenges with solutions for our state and local economies.”
However, they make clear that America’s national immigration system is “outdated and unprepared to respond to this unprecedented global migration.
“Without serious reform informed by evidence- based solutions, the challenges facing states and localities will only grow,” the governors caution. “We remain committed to working with the Administration and Congress to advance common sense solutions to fix our immigration system.”
Late last week, Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke joined immigration advocates, caucus chairs and prominent United States House of Representatives’ Democrats in urging US senators to reject compromises on immigrants’ rights in the ongoing border negotiations.
Many of the migrants and asylum seekers arriving in New York and other northern states from the Southern Border of the United States are nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Guatemala.
“The success of this great nation, in large part, has relied upon encouraging people from across the globe to come here and contribute to the United States. It’s part of the promise of America — a beacon of hope and refuge from those fleeing persecution, war, and violence,” said Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, in addressing a press conference in Washington, D.C. on the issue.
“But, right now, members of congress are working on proposals that would significantly harm our asylum system and deter people from seeking critical protection,” added the representative of the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn and First Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).
“Turning our back on asylum seekers is not only counter to our laws, but also a betrayal of our morals and values as Americans,” Clarke continued. “We cannot go back to the dark days of Trump-era policies that sought to destroy every essence of humanity in our immigration system.
“It’s time that our elected leaders put real solutions over politics,” she urged, noting that US Senate negotiators are considering anti-immigrant policies, and that House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he would reject any border deal that doesn’t include an extreme border policy already passed by House Republicans.
The Caribbean-American congresswoman was joined at the press conference by, among others, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragán, of California; Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair and Immigration Task Force Co-Chair Pramila Jayapal, of Washington State; Congressman Joaquin Castro, of Texas; Congresswomen Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury, of New Mexico; Congressman Maxwell Frost, of Florida; and Congressman Ro Khanna, of California.
They called on US senators to reject any compromises on immigrants’ rights, including anti-immigrant proposals that they say would “gut our asylum system, separate families and send vulnerable people back to danger.”
The advocates’ demands came just days after US President Joe Biden urged congressional leaders, such as Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to pass a national security supplemental package that would include foreign aid funding.
