Immigration

The United States Conference of Mayors has long recognized that our cities and our nation have been built, strengthened, and sustained by immigrants, that our cities are inclusive, multicultural centers reflecting core American values that foster economic prosperity and opportunity, and that our diversity and inclusion keeps us competitive and makes us strong. The Conference’s comprehensive immigration policy includes a call for reforming our broken immigration system, providing Dreamers a pathway to lawful permanent residence and eventually citizenship, rebuilding and strengthening the United States Refugee Admissions Program, and making asylum accessible to those seeking refuge.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Other Immigration Issues

In Letter to Congressional Leaders, Mayors Call for Additional Funding to Bolster Local Organizations Serving Asylum Seekers Along the Southern Border, December 1, 2022
U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, Immigration Discussion, January 19, 2022, Video: Speakers included Chris Magnus, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Department of Homeland Security; Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, The Ambassador of Mexico to the United States; and Jen Smyers, Chief of Staff, Office of Refugee Resettlement, United States Department of Health and Human Services.
USCM Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration Immigration Conditions on DOJ Grants Settled, November 19, 2021
- On July 16, 2018, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the City of Evanston filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions “to stop the federal government’s aggressive and escalating effort to force cities into becoming the deportation arm of the federal government.” Our case, handled by pro bono attorneys at Chicago-based Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC (“TDR”), challenged the immigration-related conditions that the Department of Justice imposed on receipt of Byrne JAG public safety grants. We filed the lawsuit at the request of the City of Chicago, which along with several other cities filed their own suits, and to carry out the Conference’s adopted policy.
- At every instance in the legal process that followed our case was successful and as a result, Conference of Mayors members were able to continue to receive Byrne JAG funding without having to comply with the immigration-related conditions.
- Upon taking office, President Biden revoked the Executive Order that established the policies behind the immigration-related conditions, and Justice Department lawyers began to settle the pending lawsuits, including ours. On November 19 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit dismissed the Justice Department’s merits’ appeal, and our case was settled. In addition, the Justice Department reimbursed our attorneys for a portion of the time they spent defending us. We are very grateful to our attorneys, TDR partners Brian Hausmann and Kate O’Brien, for the incredible work they did on behalf of America’s mayors and their cities.
READOUT: American Mayors Convene with Administration Officials to Discuss Shared Immigration Priorities, March 19, 2021|
Mayors Send Letter to Congress in Support of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, March 17, 2021
Mayors Applaud President Biden’s Executive Orders to Reunify Families Separated at the Border and Establish a Safe, Lawful Immigration System, February 2, 2021
U.S. Mayors Applaud President Biden’s Day One Action on DACA, Other Immigration Provisions, January 20, 2021
Fix Our Broken Immigration System, The Mayors’ 2020 Vision: An American Breakthrough, August 16, 2020

Questions?

Laura DeKoven WaxmanDirector of Public Safety