1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

As a member of the community in Portland Maine, my life is enormously enriched by my friends who are new to this country. These are humans who serve our community in myriad ways, who are interesting and unique. New Mainers start businesses which bring new ideas, skills, and arts into our collective lives. We need diversity of thought and capacity now more than ever. It is true that our system is broken, but an approach that values human rights staffs up, resources up, and pledges to maintain discourse that emphasizes shared humanity not othering. We need a functioning immigration process not more inhumane rules. We need narratives that emphasize the best in our commonalities not our differences We need policies that protect and enshrine human rights, not policies that open doors to further erosion of civil rights. We need leadership that confronts prejudice and does not try to appease on the basis of stereotypes. This executive order is Trumpian at a time when we are desperate to amplify the Biden Administration as not selling-out. It is bad politics and bad policy. I implore Congress to step in and build a human rights framework for our shared future. We know climate change will require enormous changes to migration and immigration and the wealthiest countries are responsible for the displacement of poor people everywhere. We need leadership to move us forward humanely and responsibly and pretending we are a US “bunker” for the privileged is not the way. Again, I ask you change course immediately and create a functional and human-rights oriented immigration policy now.