UnidosUS Releases First-of-its-Kind Border Plan to Reflect Latino Electorate’s Border Concerns

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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, UnidosUS, the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the nation, published its first comprehensive plan to address ongoing challenges in the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Plan marks UnidosUS’s first entry into the border policy debate with specific solutions at a time when the situation at the border, the volatile politics around it and the Latino community all demand it.  

“While relief for undocumented immigrants who have been living in our communities for years remains the top priority for the Hispanic electorate, UnidosUS is seeing for the first time a major rise in frustration with the situation at the border,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía. “Latino voters see securing the border and helping immigrants both as elements to restore order. Our policy plan reflects what Latino voters say they want more than anything else on the border: an approach that is firm, fair and free of cruelty.”  

Specifically, the Border Plan was developed in tandem with public opinion research examining the sentiment and priorities of Latino voters on one of the most prominent and contentious issues in this election: immigration and the southern border. The UnidosUS June 2024 poll on Latino voter attitudes revealed that more than three quarters of Hispanic voters are concerned about the situation in the U.S.-Mexico border and nearly half are very concerned. 

The UnidosUS Border Plan crystalizes the balanced approach to immigration that Latino voters demand, combining increased investments in border security with policies to support legal migration and treat all people with dignity and respect. Specifically, UnidosUS proposes: 

  1. Firm and enforceable rules at the border, including investments in U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) resources and staffing to combat human trafficking and drug smuggling, incentivizing individuals to seek asylum at official ports of entry and a metered, staged process for better managing the custody release of migrants.
  2. Giving migrants a fair shot at entering the U.S. legally through expanded legal pathways, increased staffing and resources for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to process migrant applications and allow for USCIS adjudication of asylum cases at the border.
  3. Investing in cruelty-free immigration policies within U.S. borders that provide relief to the long-term undocumented and promote self-sufficiency for new migrants. 

The Border Plan is UnidosUS’s latest addition to our suite of policy recommendations to overhaul and modernize our immigration system, including legal immigration reform to support our national and economic interests, as well as relief for the long-settled undocumented community, the top immigration priority for Latino voters nationwide, which would benefit millions of American families and help the country’s economy. UnidosUS believes that the failure to solve our border challenges is only making it harder to fix our broken immigration system—it’s time we tackle it.