People migrate, among other reasons, to escape violence and war, climate degradation and the chaos of corruption that results in injustice and persecution.
CHIRLA believes that, as a world leader, the United States must craft a foreign policy that promotes peace and good governance abroad, while reworking its immigration processes at home to welcome and integrate immigrants and refugees.
We believe in multilateral coalitions of nations, and in the just policies that can come out of them. We advocate the United States signing on to and ratifying:
- International Labor Convention
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
- Paris Agreement to strengthen global response to climate change
In 2018, injustice in Central America led to an exodus of immigrants seeking refuge in the United States. CHIRLA representatives traveled to Mexico to monitor the situation. As part of an effort to dispel misinformation and rumors, CHIRLA placed staff in Mexico to inform these migrants of their rights and expectations at the U.S.-Mexico border.
In the meantime, the Trump administration imposed draconian rules for asylum seekers and refugees, which CHIRLA is working to dismantle:
- In January 2019, DHS reconfigured the asylum process with its Migrant Protection Protocols (Remain-in-Mexico policy), barring asylum seekers at the border from living in the U.S. pending resolution of their cases, thus limiting their access to legal help.
- In September 2019, the Trump administration cut already low refugee admissions from 30,000 to 18,000, down to about 16 percent of the number of refugees allowed into the United States in 2016.