The Immigration State of the Union Address I Hope to Hear from President Biden

I’ve worked in immigration policy and politics — on and off Capitol Hill — for two decades, plus. Below are the immigration and border remarks I hope to hear from President Biden at Thursday’s State of the Union address.

“Many of us in this room and watching tonight’s address from their homes agree that our immigration system desperately needs to be fixed. I agree.

Immigration has always been one of America’s great advantages. And it’s long past time for Congress to reform and update our laws to meet the challenges and opportunities of 21st century migration. In fact, we recently had a bipartisan bill negotiated in the Senate that included so many border provisions long pushed for by Republicans that it angered some of my longtime Democratic friends and allies.

Yet when my predecessor as President told his congressional allies to walk away from the deal, they did so — even though it would have delivered on many of their asks! It’s an unfortunate reminder that some who say they support border security and oppose illegal immigration would prefer to have immigration as a campaign issue and the border in perpetual crisis than working together to solve problems and fix our immigration system.

And about the man who held office before me. He likes to pretend that the border was supposedly “secure” during his presidency or that these challenges started under my presidency. Mularkey. Throughout 2019, under my predecessor, border encounters were the highest in more than a decade, spiking to about triple the totals of when he took office. And in December 2020 — in my predecessor’s final full month as president — border encounters were the highest level for a December in more than two decades and had been rising for months. And that’s not even accounting for his damaging policies that separated toddlers from their parents at the border; that banned Muslim and African families from entering America, even with approved visas; that funneled billions toward a border wall breached by a $20 hand saw; or his ugly attacks on popular and successful policies like the DACA program for Dreamers.

So, yes, I inherited a border mess and a broken immigration system. It reflects the reality that global migration is a complicated issue and reminds us why we need a full immigration overhaul from Congress to address 21st century migration.

But if my Republican friends refuse to work together on that bigger legislative modernization, let’s still fund more border infrastructure and personnel at ports of entry; provide resources for faster asylum processing to reduce the case backlog; and give aid so states and cities can better integrate newcomers. Heck, there are high-tech fentanyl scanners that are sitting unused in warehouses because Congress hasn’t appropriated the money to install them. The people who shout loudest about the border but who block reforms ought to put money where their mouths are.

And also remember that while most of the immigration focus has been how to keep immigrants from coming to the U.S., the Federal Reserve and leading economists are touting how immigrants are leading the charge to expand our economy and fight inflation. That includes an unexpected windfall of $7 trillion in added economic activity over ten years and $1 trillion in reduced deficits because of increases in the number of people working in our economy, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office. America shouldn’t have to choose between maintaining a secure and orderly border and living up to our country’s proud history as a nation that is strengthened by immigrants.

Every day in every corner of America, we know immigrants as our neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and friends. Thousands of Dreamers are relying on the DACA program to teach in classrooms, start businesses and support families; a strong legal immigration system helps foreign-born doctors meet rural America’s health challenges; immigrant farmworkers are doing the back-breaking labor to keep us fed; major companies are making breakthroughs thanks to immigrants — including at the 45% of the Fortune 500 companies which were founded by immigrants or their children.

So no, the larger answer can’t be just higher walls and “keep out” signs or buying into the dangerous lies and ugly conspiracies that seek to keep us divided and these issues unresolved.

Immigrants aren’t “poisoning the blood of our country.” That’s not who we are as a country. That’s not what I believe.

Instead, I stand with Abraham Lincoln, who said immigration was a “source of national wealth and strength.” With John F. Kennedy, who wrote a book called, “A Nation of Immigrants.” With Ronald Reagan, who called for his “city on the hill” to “open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.” And just like during their eras — in 1864 and 1965 and 1986 — it’s time Congress again passed a major immigration overhaul.

So enough political games and photo ops and ugly lies that seek to divide us over immigration. Instead, let’s work together to create a new and a functional immigration system that works for America and advances both our values and our interests.”