Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke has become the second 2020 Democratic candidate to release a detailed immigration plan, joining a fellow Texan, former Housing and Urban Development Sec. Julián Castro, in presenting both a reversal of anti-immigrant, anti-refugee Trump administration policies, and “to advance a new vision of immigration that more fully reflects our values.”
O’Rourke’s plan includes a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants—as well as an “immediate” path for those affected by the administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Temporary Protected Status, and Deferred Enforced Departure programs—the elimination of funding for private prisons, and “an executive order to require detention only for those with criminal backgrounds representing a danger to our communities.”
The plan would “ensure that people have the tools to navigate our immigration court system by scaling up community-based programs and family case management, which is nearly one-tenth the cost of detention and ensures that people attend their court hearing and that they know what is expected of them.” The Family Case Management Program, terminated by the administration in 2017, kept families out of jail and in fact had a 99% success rate in getting people to their court dates.
Some changes to our dysfunctional and unfair immigration system, O’Rourke plan states, could be implemented immediately. ”On day one of his presidency, Beto will use executive authority to stop the inhumane treatment of children, reunite families that have been separated, reform our asylum system, rescind the travel bans, and remove the fear of deportation for Dreamers and beneficiaries of programs like TPS.”
Under the administration’s watch, seven children since last May have now died after being taken into federal immigration custody, including ten-year-old Darlyn Cristabel Cordova-Valle, whose death was not disclosed by officials for eight months. O’Rourke’s plan “will ensure lawful and humane conditions at U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities, including access to medical treatment, mental health care, social workers, and translators, and restore orderly and prompt processing of people seeking refuge under our nation’s asylum laws.”
“The current administration is pursuing cruel and cynical policies that aim to sow needless chaos and confusion at our borders,” O’Rourke’s plan continues. “It is manufacturing crises in our communities. And it is seeking to turn us against each other. When this is done in our name, with our tax dollars, and to our neighbors, we not only undermine our laws, hold back our economy, and damage our security—we risk losing ourselves.” Read O’Rourke’s entire immigration plan here.