Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego unveiled a border security and immigration reform plan that was immediately endorsed by several House Democrats.
Gallego, the son of Mexican and Colombian immigrants, offered a “five-pillar” framework he said expresses his commitment to securing the southern border.
“We don’t have to choose between border security and immigration reform,” Gallego said.
“We can and should do both.”
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“Americans deserve the right to feel safe knowing their border is secure, but for decades, Congress has tried and failed to take action because politics got in the way. It’s time to push forward and enact a plan that works,” Gallego said.
Typically seen as a Republican issue, Gallego’s border security plan combines GOP priorities like staffing-up the Border Patrol, with Democrats’ favored “pathway to citizenship” for select migrants, in part for economic benefit.
Gallego’s plan also outlines asylum process reform by “expedit[ing]” people’s passage through the system and also seeking to enforce that other countries do their “fair share” to resettle asylum seekers and combat cartel violence and economic instability in their home areas.
It increases the annual green card quota and increases the use of e-Verify, an application that verifies an employee’s legal status when it comes to working in the U.S.
In terms of asylum case reform, Gallego seeks to hire additional officers to process claims and afford them more jurisdiction in deciding the outcome of applicants’ cases.
“I commend Sen. Gallego for this pragmatic and much-needed framework,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, a supporter of the plan.
“More Democrats need to move to the middle on this issue and embrace this type of approach,” he said.
“As a border-district congressman, I know it’s past time we reform our asylum system, stop the flow of dangerous drugs by investing in our Border Patrol officers, develop legal pathways, tackle the root causes of irregular migration, and ensure South Texas, and communities all along the border – can safely thrive.”
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In the north, Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., also lent his support to the plan.
“Sen. Gallego is a serious Democratic leader, and I applaud him for offering a balanced immigration policy that secures our borders, fixes the broken asylum system, grows our economy, and treats immigrants with dignity,” Suozzi told Fox News Digital.
“We can achieve these goals without pandering to the far left’s impractical demands or the far right’s mean-spirited extremism.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Gallego’s plan.
