Denis McDonough, an executive fellow for the Keough School’s Global Policy Initiative, calls for more humane and efficient alternatives to the US’ current immigration system alongside Cecilia Muñoz, vice president for public interest technology and local initiatives at New America, in a New York Times op-ed:
“The suggestion that subjecting migrants to appalling conditions might serve as a deterrent is not just cruel; it conveys a grave misunderstanding of the forces that drive people to undertake this dangerous journey and of what it will take to manage the number of people arriving at the border.
That’s why, while Democratic members of Congress and presidential candidates are rightly drawing attention to the plight of migrants, they need to do more than condemn the current conditions; they need to show that unlike Mr. Trump, they understand the nature of the crisis, both at the border and at its origins in Central America. And they need to offer the country a workable plan to address it.”
Originally published at nytimes.com on July 11, 2019.