Immigration
Patrick is a grandson of immigrants; his grandparents arrived from Ireland in the early 20th century and moved into Hell’s Kitchen after passing through Ellis Island.
This country was founded on immigrants, and today, those coming to America seeking a better life must be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Why it matters:
President Trump campaigned on cracking down on illegal immigration—and he has gone above and beyond. Thousands upon thousands have been deported, invasions of privacy have been undertaken to identify illegal immigrants, and large numbers of federal immigration agents are flooding the streets of predominantly democratic cities across the country to sweep up immigrants.
The immediate effects of all of this have been chaos erupting across the country; in early January, an unarmed, American woman was fatally shot by an immigrations officer during a traffic stop; two weeks later, an American man was fatally shot during another altercation with federal agents. The longer-term effects of this immigration sweep have yet to be determined, but the economy will likely suffer as many of these immigrants, despite not residing in America legally, pay taxes and work difficult jobs.
Solution(s):
- Blue Card: Immigrants who have been in the U.S. for 10 years, with no criminal record and history of paying taxes, have new pathway to permanent residence and legal status
- Increase the number of immigration judges to reduce case backlogs
- Create immediate bill to increase number of judges by 25%
- Reform ICE
- Recall all ICE agents for retraining
- No face masks
- Body cameras
- Stricter regulations on arrest warrants
- A return to more rigorous training
- Background checks