NEWS: Casar Pushes Back on Biden Executive Order; Drafting Legislation to Reduce Forced Migration

Casar confronts what few in Washington will talk about: How US policies contribute to the poverty and violence that push migrants to journey to our borders

The Hill: Texas Democrat pushes back on Biden’s asylum order: ‘Isn’t going to work’

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) pushed back on President Joe Biden’s anti-asylum Executive Order and announced he is actively drafting legislation to significantly reduce forced migration.  

By addressing the root causes of forced migration, such as poverty and violence in Latin America, the bill would reduce the number of people seeking refuge in the U.S. without gutting long-standing asylum policy. 

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“Before we blame asylum seekers for fleeing hunger and violence, we should first end U.S. policies that contribute to starvation and instability in their home countries,” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). “That’s why I’m drafting legislation to change counterproductive U.S. policies that push people out of their homes.

“Instead of enforcing this shortsighted executive order, President Biden should end sanctions in Latin America, and update our trade and economic policies. This would reduce pressure on our limited border resources without reverting to harsh, Trump-lite measures.”

Right-wing officials have capitalized on fear mongering about the southern border; however, immigration policy doesn’t start at the border. Many people migrating to the U.S. are from Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti. We have extremely harsh U.S. sanctions in Venezuela, we have a U.S. embargo in Cuba, and our government has engaged in near-constant political interference that has eroded faith in democracy in Haiti. Casar’sproposed bill would end needless sanctions and embargoes, change policies that result in crushing debt and austerity in poor countries, and confront weapons trafficking from the U.S. to Latin America. 

The bill is being drafted, and it will cover sanctions, investments in Latin America, climate crisis response, regional cooperation, and more. Casar is consulting with organizations focused on immigration, economic international policy, climate, and international aid, as well as Members of Congress like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07).

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.  A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.