NATIONAL CAMPAIGNS

The Border is the New Ellis Island

The American experiment began with immigrants; they built our country despite the lies continually perpetrated over the years. Immigrants are innovative and entrepreneurial and often fill jobs Americans will not fill. Immigrants pay more taxes than they ever collected in government services during their lifetimes.

Our border policies decisions today will define the trajectory of our country as a whole. As such, we as a nation must reject any policies or tradeoffs that will harm communities, and instead invest in building a New Ellis Island at our border where people are treated with dignity and respect.

We believe in our legacy as a welcoming nation, and the heavy presence of border officials at our border and the culture of abuse within Border Patrol and other enforcement agencies in the region should be of grave concern to all Americans, not just border communities.

What is happening at our borders is part of a more significant problem. It is a humanitarian crisis – not a “crisis at the border,” directly resulting from the militarization of the border. It is when asylum and other legal immigration avenues are blocked, forcing migrants to turn to smuggling organizations to cross the border because they can no longer surrender to U.S. border officials and request asylum, which is their legal right under U.S. and international law.

The BNHR will continue to advocate for refugees, migrants, and undocumented Americans and uplift their voices until Congress acts on complete immigration reform for the 11 million already in the United States who deserve a pathway to legalization. The border is the New Ellis Island, and our policy decisions in the coming years will determine if the U.S. will remain a beacon of hope and freedom as it did for millions of immigrants more than a century ago or become a place of fear and hatred in decades to come.