Where the Republican presidential candidates stand on immigration
The historic numbers of immigrants arriving at the southern border and seeking shelter in cities like New York and Chicago has been making headlines for more than a year. American voters report mixed feelings: 47% have said immigration is a major concern, but two-thirds of Americans continue to see it as beneficial to the country.
The Biden administration's immigration policy has been described as a "carrot and stick" approach: punish migrants who enter the U.S. without documents, and encourage folks to apply to enter legally. In order to alleviate pressure at the southern border, the president has also expanded legal programs for immigrants from countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Ukraine. Many advocates have said asylum seekers fleeing persecution can't wait to apply to enter legally; meanwhile Republicans have accused Biden of executive overreach and are suing in federal court.
Biden's policy has had mixed results. This year, there has been a record rise in people displaced globally, and an unprecedented number of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border: more than 2.5 million.
But those numbers only tell part of the story. Overall, the number of people crossing the border without permission outside legal ports of entry has decreased since September. The number of migrants arriving at legal points of entry has more than doubled. More immigrants than ever before are being placed in deportation proceedings when they go through ports of entry. What this means is people are given a "notice to appear" in immigration court at a future date that could be within months or even years later. As NPR has reported, the system, which has an extensive backlog, has the feel of "a revolving door".
What happens to immigrants once they are in the country has led to intense, and butted heads with the Biden administration, saying its shelter system cannot handle any more. Migrant destination cities like are finding their homelessness problem compounded.
