Operation Hope - Immigration Reform

[over9000]

@alison_hartson

—> Explain WHAT the legislation is, WHERE it is (federal, state, local), and WHY it should be the one we focus on. <—

Reply here with your suggestions. After the community decides on the answers for all three legislative campaigns, I’ll then share it with Cenk.

[over9000]

Original post

@over9000

Immigration Reform
What- Major overhaul. Reassigning courts in all states to work immigration cases, transporting people to cities where they can be at the court dates assigned, allow temporary work permits.
Coverage- Federal and states, including the use of current CBP and ICE employees and equipment (minus detention centers) for protection and transportation. Federal funds already go to states and should be distributed according to who welcomes the immigrants.
Why- Immigration is important for every person and desperately needs to be reworked in the US. The bussing of migrants to other cities has brought attention to them being people who ALL Americans need to help with and not just border states (not that they’re alone, but they cry like they are).

[over9000]

What, where, why.
WHAT- I want to see a drastic systematic overhaul of our immigration system, but what should we try to legislate? It’s not the greatest immediate impact, but I think getting courts up to date for asylum is the best first step. Someone with knowledge of the system please step in.
WHERE- Immigration courts are federal, but are they in every state? They should be. Again, someone knowledgeable please opine.
WHY- This will start fixing our broken system from the lynchpin of the legal system, and if we can get more courts to do asylum claims more efficiently it will pave the way for greater change. Families who have been waiting in legal purgatory for decades are terrified of the future that Trump promises, deportation.
Opposition will be hard pressed to get any support aside from the standard racism and xenophobia. They want it done legally, let’s give it to them. The more streamlined our system is, the less power cartels and traffickers have.

I always welcome perspective, please share pros, cons and/or alternatives.

[jared123456]

I agree our corrupt legal system is a key point of this issue. Addressing that corruption seems like a necessary component of addressing this issue. I hope we could find some info on the types of organizations which have been legally encoding racist nationalism, and how they do so. This could help inform us on how to oppose their efforts, and also inform us on how they might respond to our effort.

Regarding your point about the opposition, their standard scapegoating excuses (drugs, criminals, terrorists, taking jobs, draining public benefits, etc.) have seemed fairly politically effective to me. Though, I haven’t looked closely at how effective they actually are.

[enduser]

So here is my attempt to integrate AI into this process please give me feedback that you have.

2. Immigration Reform Legislation:

Title: Compassionate Integration and Inclusive Immigration Act

Summary:
The Compassionate Integration and Inclusive Immigration Act underscores the distinctive challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees, aiming to provide a comprehensive and empathetic approach to their assimilation into our society. In addition to the broader immigration reforms outlined previously, this legislation specifically addresses the comfort and humanitarian concerns related to the well-being of asylum seekers and refugees.

Key Features:

1. Holistic Support for Asylum Seekers and Refugees:

   • Medical Well-being: Ensures timely and thorough medical assessments for asylum seekers and refugees, addressing both physical and mental health needs.
   • Comfortable Shelter Design: Encourages the creation of thoughtfully designed and culturally sensitive shelters, taking into account the diverse needs of individuals and families.
   • Community Integration Programs: Establishes community-based integration programs that provide language classes, vocational training, and cultural orientation to facilitate the seamless assimilation of asylum seekers and refugees.

2. Unified Support System:

   • Efficient Resource Coordination: Creates a centralized and streamlined system for coordinating resources and support services to eliminate redundancy and ensure efficient assistance to those seeking refuge.
   • Public-Private Partnerships: Promotes collaboration between government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private entities to leverage resources and expertise for the benefit of asylum seekers and refugees.

3. Humanitarian Aid and Comfort Assistance:

   • Comfort Aid Funding: Allocates funding specifically for comfort aid, including the provision of comfortable furniture, medical equipment, and accessibility modifications in housing facilities.
   • Mental Health Services: Recognizes the importance of mental health services and trauma-informed care, ensuring that appropriate resources are available for those who have experienced displacement and trauma.

4. Swift Asylum Processing:

   • Efficient Asylum Procedures: Implements expedited and fair asylum processing procedures to reduce the time individuals spend in uncertainty, addressing the stress that often contributes to discomfort and challenges.
   • Legal Aid Services: Provides accessible legal aid services to asylum seekers to navigate the complex immigration system and advocate for their rights.

By incorporating these comfort considerations into the broader immigration reform framework, we aim to create a more humane and supportive environment for asylum seekers and refugees, acknowledging their unique needs and contributions to our society.

[enduser]

I think this makes for a good template to work off edit, expand, or contract scope / language.

[alison_hartson]

Thank you all @here for weighing in! We’d love to hear from more people so that we can then distill it all down into one short summary. As you continue to talk through this, remember:

• Is there a specific piece of legislation that has been introduced (this year or previously) that we should target? Something different?
• Keep it simple: Even though you are providing explanations and rationale, keep it simple for now. We’ll dive into the weeds and perfect things later. Let’s focus on getting as much participation as possible so that everyone’s ideas and contributions are welcomed and considered.
• If you don’t have all the answers, or answers to all pieces of legislation, that’s okay! Just do your best. Anything you have to offer is helpful and appreciated.

[over9000]

@jared123456 I was more specifically looking for simply expanding the number of immigration judges, but you’re absolutely right about corruption in the system and the intentional racism and elitism that has been written into law.
As to the tactics of demonizing immigrants, it does have support from a significant portion of the right wing, it’s been red meat for years. This can be changed, but it won’t matter now.
After taking some time to look into the asylum system I FIRMLY believe that this idea isn’t viable with the current administration, and we all know what a republican executive branch will do.
@enduser The AI model for Immigration Reform is impressive, it’s been interesting to see how it outlined each of the 3 proposals. I’ll probably be sending you some questions when I can.

[enduser]

To your other point why can’t we invest in not only more judges but a better use of them?

Could some Judges act on behalf of this court as a liaison? Maybe in a telecommuting capacity.

I know sometimes local attorneys will hear small claims cases to help keep the docket from getting clogged up.

Could something like this work in some hearings?

For feasibility / efficacy I suspect I would need some investigation resources. I doubt this information could be acquired without some proper due diligence and resources.

[over9000]

So the research I did showed me that this year the Biden administration added 39 immigration judges (IJ) in various states. The centers that handle asylum are located nationwide, with most of the non boarder courts doing hearings remotely. This all seemed ok initially, but government studies showed that for America to break even on asylum claims, not even to gain ground, we needed about 300 IJs added this year.
I thought maybe it was a red tape situation, with the government needing to move resources around and get past congressional hurdles. Looking at the government site that handles applications and appointments for IJs it’s clear that they aren’t planning on expanding, stating clearly that these are limited and highly sought positions. They don’t have term limits, but no terms are guaranteed (which is scary).
Then I came across a Reuters article that pretty much solidified my growing disgust for the handling of immigration since Biden took office. They just want more of the same, and the executive branch controls appointments, no legislation can force them to act right on this specific issue.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-administration-urges-us-court-uphold-asylum-restrictions-2023-11-08/

[enduser]

Thanks love the information here. I need to have a bit to ruminate on this framework.

[over9000]

Lemme know if I need to get you the links to the other info, I can find it again

[over9000]

In congress right now we have 5637 bills introduced that focus on immigration. 344 of them were introduced in the current 118th congress started in 2023.
https://www.congress.gov/search?q={"source"%3A"legislation"%2C"subject"%3A"Immigration"}
I think we need to unplug congress, wait 2 minutes and then plug it back in.

[enduser]

We need to track them with like a wip tracker or some such.

[enduser]

Here are some considerations for Immigration reforms:

List of items

Marshall plan for Latin America.
Sending the judges to the boarder.
Investment in virtual courtroom infrastructure and transparency.
Asylum processing abroad creating a campus / adjudication abroad.
Startup fund $10,000 (Dean suggested) to get you off the ground (this shouldn’t be just for immigrants maybe extent through the SBA to all citizens) this cash award maybe sensitive.

[over9000]

A Marshall Plan would make a huge impact, but on the financial front I’m more inclined to push for a massive change to our international workings. American policies and companies are destroying countries on every continent, I think we should start approaching it like the idea of UBI here. But you know how hard they fight when you touch the money.
More judges 100%! From the dive I did before I found that a large portion of courts handling immigration asylum cases are remote based. This is excellent news since it means non-border states can use resources to help deal with immigration instead of ignoring and complaining about it. I think this should be the first motion, we still need 200+ judges just to break even on asylum claims.
This move is probably the easiest to defend and gain support for, since the quicker processing of claims will lead to less illegal activity. If needed to appeal to the bigotry of isolationists it can even be shown how many of these asylum seekers are denied and deported. This wrecks the claim of “letting everyone in.”
I’d love to see adjudication abroad as well, but it seems like it may complicate things significantly. We barely trust what our own government is doing here at home, I usually expect that our consulates in other countries are simply bribe centers for expanding the power of the wealthy in whatever country they are in.
Startup funds really should be a thing, but again if you touch the money…

[isp]

Immigration Reform
I read these points from a candidate for 2024. I agree with them, but still do not see how to make anything happen until a shift in leadership happens.

1. We need to streamline our failing asylum system. It currently takes asylum seekers five or six years to get a court date. We need to hire far more asylum officers and judges, and we need to give jurisdiction to asylum officers to adjudicate these cases on their own so that we can have much faster and fairer hearings.
2. On the level of root cause, we need to think about why so many people are migrating in the first place. And no one in Washington wants to admit that, too often, the causes lie at least indirectly with U.S. foreign policy and intervention in Latin America. We must rectify this harm.
3. The war on drugs (and the notion that immigrants are the source at the border) needs to stop. If there is no black market, we undermine the profits for cartels, plus regulating the drugs means less overdoses from fentanyl which is too often added to increase addition levels. Make all drugs legal, and provide treatment for those who suffer addiction, is one better option.
4. We must reject the demagogues who demonize immigrants and promote tough-sounding but false solutions. We need fundamental change based on a much deeper understanding of what is fueling the crisis to begin with.
   And in summary, the legislative branches keep punting the problem down the road and fail to work together to fix it.