- Julián Castro
« Immigration
Policy
Julián for the Future
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Contact: Sawyer Hackett
Julián Castro Unveils Bold, Sweeping ‘People First Immigration’ Policy
First-in-the-field
immigration
policy
will
overhaul
immigration
system,
create
a more
humane border policy, and establish a 21st century Marshall Plan for
Central America
SAN ANTONIO, TX (April 2, 2019) – On Tuesday, April 2, 2019, presidential candidate, former Obama Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Julián Castro, unveiled via Medium a bold and extensive immigration policy, the ‘People First Immigration’ plan, to reform our immigration system, create a more just and compassionate border policy, and establish a 21st century Marshall Plan for Central America to re-engage our Latin American partners and address the root causes of migration.
The first-in-the-field plan would, among other reforms, establish a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, reconstitute and reform immigration enforcement agencies and practices, overhaul asylum and detention policies, and properly equip our ports-of-entry to process claims and prevent criminal activity.
Most notably, the plan would reverse a Bush-era practice that prioritizes treating entry into the United States as a criminal, rather than civil, violation—a provision that has sanctioned many of the most egregious Trump administration immigration practices, such as family separation. This bold provision would change the way the United States government views migrants entering our nation--not as threats to our national security, as prescribed by antiquated policies of previous administrations--but rather as people and families in search of a better life who can contribute tremendously to the fabric of our nation and economy.
“It’s time our nation’s immigration system reflect the collective values that we all share — equality, fairness, justice, and compassion,” said Secretary Julián Castroon Medium. “It’s time that we recognize that protecting our borders and treating immigrants with compassion are not mutually exclusive. I’m proud to unveil an immigration policy that re-integrates those collective values in our immigration system. A policy that is sensible and fair, and treats those who cross our borders in search of refuge with empathy and understanding.”
Secretary Castro will discuss his People First Immigration plan in an exclusive interview tonight with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT. Later this week, Secretary Castro will travel to Los Angeles on Friday, April 5, 2019, for his first California rally since launching his campaign to discuss his vision for a more compassionate immigration system that stands in stark contrast to the vitriolic Trump immigration agenda that has failed the American people. On Friday, March 29, Secretary Castro announced via twitter that during President Trump’s fundraising trip to San Antonio on Wednesday, March 10, he will also hold a “One Nation. One Destiny” rally at 6:00 PM CT at a location to be announced in his hometown of San Antonio.
The People First immigration policy was immediately praised by activists and policy leaders following its release:
"All candidates should be prioritizing immigration," said Andre Segura, the Legal Director at ACLU Texas. "All candidates should be prioritizing immigration. 🏽 @JulianCastro for not only being first but setting out a plan that rejects Trump’s cruel policies and helps move us all forward in a compassionate and concrete way. This is no easy challenge but we must hold everyone to it."
Amanda Baran, an attorney and former Principal Director of Immigration Policy, Department of Homeland Security under the Obama Administration, tweeted"@JulianCastro’s #PeopleFirstImmigration policy has vision and sets the standard for 2020 Democrats." She added, "I love the idea of expanding our moral imagination. That is so on point. We can’t be constrained by “what can be done” but instead must think big and rise to meet our challenges. This moment calls for so much more."
Frank Sharry, founder and Executive Director at America's Voice, a leading immigrant rights advocacy organization, tweeted "First out of the gate with a thoughtful set of ideas and stands on immigration and refugees, Julián Castrointegrates humane and workable policies with smart enforcement priorities. Well done, sir."
"This is a bold, serious, smart, extremely clear immigration plan," said Jess Morales Rocketto. "And it is rooted in the love and compassion people deserve. @JulianCastro just set the standard for 2020 candidates.
Jonathan Jayes-Green, the co-founder and director of Undocublack, a multigenerational network of currently and formerly undocumented Black people, tweeted, "Excited to see the first immigration platform of the 2020 race by @JulianCastro. It embraces the Dream and Promise Act & mostly calls for an end to immigration detention, the end of 287(g) agreements, rescinding the Muslim Ban, restoring asylum, etc. I particularly appreciated seeing climate change named as a reason why we need to increase refugee numbers - we don’t talk nearly enough about this but it is real."
Former Dreamer, best-selling author, and social justice advocate Julissa Arcetweeted, "Secretary @JulianCastro has set the bar high for immigration policy in the 2020 campaign. We need to hear from other 2020 candidates if they support measures to provide a pathway to citizenship, eliminate detention, break up ICE, and repeal 1325."
The People First Immigration plan would 1) reform many of the historically flawed policies and procedures of our current immigration system 2) create a more fair and humane system to address our border 3) establish a new doctrine for re-engaging Central America to address the root causes of immigration.
The policy outline can be viewed below:
People
First
Immigration
Policy
- Reforming our Immigration System
- Establish
an
inclusive
road
map to
citizenship
for
undocumented
individuals
and families who do not have
a current pathway to legal status, but who live, work, and
raise families in communities throughout the United States.
- Provide
a
pathway
to
citizenship
for
Dreamers
and those
under Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure,
through
the
Dream
and
Promise
Act
of
2019, and defend DACA and TPS
protections during the legislative process.
- Revamp
the
visa
system
and
strengthen
family
reunification through
the
Reuniting
Families Act, reducing the number of people who
are waiting to reunite with their families but are stuck in the
bureaucratic backlog.
- Terminate
the
three
and
ten
year
bars, which
require undocumented individuals—who otherwise qualify for legal
status—to leave the United States and their families behind for years
before becoming citizens.
- Rescind
Trump’s
discriminatory
Muslim
and
Refugee
Ban, other
harmful
immigration-related executive orders, racial profiling of
minority communities, and expanded use of denaturalization as a
frequently used course of action through the USCIS Denaturalization
Task Force.
- Increase
refugee
admissions, reversing cuts
under Trump, and restoring our nation to its historic position as a
moral leader providing a safe haven for those fleeing persecution,
violence, disaster, and despair. Adapt these programs to account for
new global challenges like climate change.
- End
cooperation
agreements
under
Section
287(g) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act and other such agreements between
federal immigration enforcement agencies and state and local entities
that erode trust between communities and local police.
- Allow
all
deported
veterans
who
honorably
served
in
the armed forces of the
United States to return to the United States and
end
the
practice
of
deporting
such
veterans.
- Strengthen
labor
protections
for
skilled
and
unskilled
guest
workers and
end exploitative practices which hurt residents and guest workers,
provide work authorization to spouses of participating individuals, and
ensure guest workers have a fair opportunity to become residents and
citizens through the Agricultural Worker Program Act.
- Protect
victims
of
domestic
violence,
sexual
assault,
and
human trafficking,
ensuring
these
individuals are not subject to detention, deportation,
or legal reprisal following their reporting these incidents.
- Creating a Humane Border Policy
- Repeal
Section
1325
of
Immigration
and
Nationality
Act, which
applies
a
criminal,
rather than civil, violation to people apprehended
when entering the United States. This provision has allowed for
separation of children and families at our border, the large-scale
detention of tens of thousands of families, and has deterred migrants
from turning themselves in to an immigration official within our
borders. The widespread detention of these individuals and families at
our border has overburdened our justice system, been ineffective at
deterring migration, and has cost our government billions of dollars.
- Effectively
end
the
use
of
detention
in
conducting
immigration enforcement,
except in serious cases. Utilize
cost-effective and more humane alternatives to detention, which draw on
the successes of prior efforts like the Family Case Management Program.
Ensure all individuals have access to a bond hearing and that
vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, and members
of the LGBTQ community are not placed in civil detention.
- Eliminate
the
for-profit
immigration
detention
and
prison
industry,
which monetizes the detention of migrants and children.
- End
immigration
enforcement
raids
at
or
near
sensitive
locations such
as
schools,
hospitals, churches, and courthouses.
- Effectively
end
the
use
of
detention
in
conducting
immigration enforcement,
except in serious cases. Utilize
cost-effective and more humane alternatives to detention, which draw on
the successes of prior efforts like the Family Case Management Program.
Ensure all individuals have access to a bond hearing and that
vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, and members
of the LGBTQ community are not placed in civil detention.
- Reconstitute
the
U.S.
Immigration
and
Custom
Enforcement
(ICE) by
splitting
the
agency in half and re-assigning enforcement functions
within the Enforcement and Removal Operations to other agencies,
including the Department of Justice. There must be a thorough
investigation of ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and the Department
of Justice’s role in family separation policies instituted by the Trump
administration.
- Reprioritize
Customs
and
Border
Protection
(CBP) to
focus its efforts on border-related activities including drug and human
trafficking, rather than law enforcement activities in the interior of
the United States. Extend Department of Justice civil rights
jurisdiction to CBP, and adopt best practices employed in law
enforcement, including body-worn cameras and strong accountability
policies.
- End
wasteful,
ineffective
and
invasive
border
wall
construction and
consult
with
border communities about repairing environmental and other
damage already done.
- Properly
equip
our
ports
of
entry, investing
in infrastructure, staff, and technology to process claims and prevent
human and drug trafficking.
- End
asylum
“metering”
and
the
‘Remain
in
Mexico’
policy, ensuring
all
asylum
seekers
are able to present their claims to U.S. officials.
- Create
a
well-resourced
and
independent
immigration
court
system under
Article
1 of the Constitution, outside the Department of Justice, to
increase the hiring and retention of independent judges to adjudicate
immigration claims faster.
- Increase
access
to
legal
assistance for individuals and
families presenting asylum claims, ensuring individuals
understand their rights and are able to make an informed and accurate
request for asylum. Guarantee counsel for all children in the
immigration enforcement system.
- Protect
victims
of
domestic
and
gang
violence, by reversing
guidance by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that prohibited asylum
claims on the basis of credible fear stemming from domestic or gang
violence.
- Establishing a 21st Century ‘Marshall Plan’
for Central America
- Prioritize
high-level
diplomacy
with
our
neighbors
in
Latin
America,
a region where challenges in governance and economic development have
consequences to migration to the United States, U.S. economic growth,
and regional instability.
- Ensure
higher
standards
of
governance,
transparency,
rule-of-law,
and
anti-corruption
practice as the heart of U.S.
engagement with Central America, rejecting the idea that
regional stability requires overlooking authoritarian actions.
- Enlist
all
actors
in
Central
America
to
be
part of the solution by
restoring
U.S.
credibility
on corruption and transparency and
encouraging private sector, civil society, and local governments to
work together – rather than at cross purposes – to build sustainable,
equitable societies.
- Bolster
economic
development,
superior
labor
rights,
and
environmentally
sustainable
jobs, allowing
individuals to build a life in their communities rather than make a
dangerous journey leaving their homes.
- Ensure
regional
partners
are
part
of
the
solution by
working with countries in the Western Hemisphere to channel resources
to address development challenges in Central America, including through
a newly constituted multilateral development fund focused on
sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Central America.
- Target
illicit
networks
and
transnational
criminal
organizations through
law
enforcement
actions
and sanctions mechanisms to eliminate their
ability to raise revenue from illegal activities like human and drug
trafficking and public corruption.
- Re-establish
the
Central
American
Minors program,
which allows individuals in the United States to petition for their
minor children residing in Central America to apply for resettlement in
the U.S. while their applications are pending.
- Increase funding for bottom-up development and violence prevention programs, including the Inter-American Foundation, to spur initiatives that prevent violence at the local level, support public health and nutrition, and partner with the private sector to create jobs.
About Secretary Julián Castro
Julián Castro served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama from 2014-2017. Before that, he was Mayor of his native San Antonio, Texas — the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city at the time. In 2012, he gave a rousing keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, during which he described the American Dream as a relay to be passed from generation to generation. In 2018, Castro founded Opportunity First, an organization to invest in the next generation of progressive leaders. In October 2018, Little, Brown published Castro’s memoir, An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream. On January 12, 2019, Secretary Castro announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Follow Julián Castro on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. JulianfortheFuture.com and Julianparaelfuturo.com
###