Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today called for a balanced, less punitive approach to addressing the challenges posed by migration along the U.S. Southern Border.
The response to the continued challenges posed by migration along the border must always seek to protect the rights and dignity of all migrants. The increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the renewed emphasis on border security must be balanced by the allocation of funding to programs that expand access to justice for refugees and asylum seekers. Increased security and the protection of human rights are not mutually exclusive. CWS does not support abolishing or zeroing out funding for ICE or CBP. Rather, CWS supports common-sense immigration law and policy reforms and effective enforcement actions that uphold our obligations under U.S. and international law.
The U.S. government should pursue an orderly, safe, and humane migration policy through a balanced mix of investments that enables effective enforcement, upholds our obligations under US and international law to respect the right to asylum, and provides sufficient capacity at ports of entry and in the interior to quickly and fairly adjudicate asylum claims.
For more information, contact media@cwsglobal.org.