On October 3, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights in tandem with fifteen other organizations working to advance the rights and dignity of immigrant and border communities in the United States, sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), and Health and Human Services (HHS) with a list of six priority recommendations to consider while developing the FY2024 budget.

These recommendations would encourage bolder steps toward a humane approach to immigration policy in the coming fiscal year. Specifically, they include:

1. Decrease funding for detention and surveillance of immigrants while increasing funding for community-based case management;

2. Provide legal representation for all indigent immigrants facing removal, including children, adults and families;

3. Decrease the size of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol (USBP) agent corps and reduce funding for border surveillance programs;

4. Provide U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adequate funding to reduce its growing backlog and ensure a fair and efficient immigration and asylum system;

5. Increase existing funding and develop new funding streams for communities and nonprofit organizations that form an essential component of the United States’ ability to respond to new asylum seekers and refugees;

6. Ensure separated families successfully reunify by allocating funds for the provision of comprehensive and holistic services.

You can read the extensive list of recommendations in the pdf version of the letter below.