US advocates say Congress needs to act amid migrant arrivals
With detentions at the southern border hitting an all-time high, immigration advocates argue that only legislation -- not executive orders -- can durably fix the system.
Immigration advocates are pressing Congress to pass comprehensive legislation to address a historic wave of migrant arrivals at the US-Mexico border, arguing that executive action alone cannot durably fix the system, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet reported that roughly 1.7 million migrants were detained during the fiscal year, an all-time high, alongside a 20-year high in asylum seekers and other migrants at the southern border.
'Congress needs to act; anything that the president does is temporary without Congress,' said Melanie Nezer, senior vice president at HIAS, a refugee assistance organization, per Al Jazeera's reporting.
The report did not specify exactly which legislative vehicle advocates believed had the best chance of passing, or on what timeline, reflecting the uncertainty around any immigration bill in a closely divided Congress at the time.
What advocates are asking for
According to Al Jazeera, advocates including Nicole Melaku of the National Partnership for New Americans want new legislation that addresses climate-driven and economic migration specifically, arguing that the existing asylum framework was not built for the current mix of people arriving. Broader asks cited in the reporting included pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients, plus restoring what advocates described as a functional asylum system. Oscar Chacon, executive director of Alianza Americas, was cited discussing how increased use of military and enforcement resources at the border had failed to deter crossings.
Why the divide persists
David Bier of the Cato Institute was quoted explaining that partisan leadership on the issue has continued to polarize immigration policy, a dynamic Al Jazeera's report framed as the core obstacle to any legislative fix. The article also noted roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US at the time and a caravan of about 3,000 migrants -- primarily fleeing poverty and violence in Central America and the Caribbean -- that had departed southern Mexico on foot the previous month attempting to reach the US border, though Al Jazeera reported Mexican authorities were likely to block the group's passage under a bilateral agreement to curb irregular migration.
The policy backdrop
Al Jazeera's report placed the moment against a specific policy backdrop: most migrants reaching the border at the time faced expulsion under Title 42, a Trump-era public health measure enabling rapid removals that the Biden administration had retained despite criticism from rights groups, progressive lawmakers and the United Nations. The outlet noted the administration had proposed roughly $100 billion in spending aimed at reducing case backlogs, expanding legal representation and improving asylum-processing efficiency -- funding advocates argued was insufficient without accompanying legislation. Al Jazeera also cited an ABC News/Ipsos poll from October 2021 finding 68% of Americans disapproved of Biden's handling of immigration.
The article noted that the last time Congress passed comprehensive immigration reform was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 under President Reagan, which criminalized hiring undocumented workers, legalized nearly 3 million migrants already in the country, and increased border security funding and personnel. A subsequent attempt came in 2013, when the Senate passed a bipartisan reform bill 68-32, with 14 Republicans in support, but the House never brought it to a vote.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by Al Jazeera. It restores a story originally published on this site in November 2021; figures are as reported at the time.