WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House has requested $4.5 billion in emergency aid from Congress to address the increasing number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, highlighting the dire need for sustainable solutions.
However, the request – which includes resources for both humanitarian aid and additional border operations – still falls short of a comprehensive plan to sustainably address the humanitarian crisis leading an unprecedented number of migrant families to flee poverty and violence in Central America.
“It is clear that the Trump administration recognizes the need to address the situation at our southern border, but a one-time emergency ask is not an adequate response. We need sustainable humanitarian solutions,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum.
“Short- and long-term measures like those we’ve suggested should not only help to manage and process asylum seekers, but also address the factors that lead them to flee their homes in the first place. The administration cannot detain, deport and deter its way out of this situation. If we continue merely to react to this crisis rather than address the bigger picture, it will only worsen.”
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