Washington DC - Senator Ruben Gallego on Monday unveiled a new plan for the US system calling for more border patrol agents, among other measures.
Senator Ruben Gallego has unveiled a new plan to reform US immigration and border policy. © Jemal COUNTESS / AFP
"Our border and immigration systems are broken. For decades, Congress has tried to take action, but at the end of the day, politics got in the way," Gallego said in a video .
The Arizona Democrat's plan – entitled – apparently seeks to strike a middle ground between demands from the right for increased "border security" and basic human rights guarantees for immigrant communities.
The 22-page document outlines five pillars upon which Gallego believes US immigration and border policy should be based:
Among the concrete measures in the proposal, Gallego suggests hiring more border patrol officers and increasing their base pay and bonuses, as well as constructing border barriers in what he dubs "strategic locations."
He also recommends expediting and streamlining the process of applying for asylum in the US, while allowing limitations on asylum access during what he calls "migrant surges."
Protesters in New York City raise signs calling for the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. © SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
Gallego, who entered the Senate in January after in November, released his plan amid widespread public outrage over the Donald Trump administration's mass detention and deportation efforts.
As part of its crackdown on immigrants, the administration has also sought to of hundreds of thousands of people.
Gallego's plan calls for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and undocumented spouses of US citizens and green card holders. He also proposes increasing the annual allotment of key visas and green cards and removing arbitrary per-country caps.
The proposal also endorses expanding refugee resettlement, as Trump aimed to immediately after taking office – with a notable exception for .
"Enacting these commonsense solutions is a moral imperative that aligns with American values and will drive economic activity, innovation, and competitiveness for generations to come," the document states.
