Early and mail-in voting has already begun in many states, with many districts reporting record turnout. Voting is one of our most important and fundamental rights as American citizens, a freedom that is not available in many countries around the world. Voting eligibility has greatly evolved over the course of American history and demographics of our voting population are shifting. Millennials and Gen Z now share roughly the same share of the electorate that baby boomers and pre-boomers make up, according to census data analyzed by the Brookings Institution. More than 23 million US immigrants will be eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election, making up roughly 10% of the nation’s overall electorate according to Pew Research Center estimates. Voting Resources Immigration is on the ballot this election. President Trump and his opponent, former Vice President Biden, offer starkly different policies for addressing immigration. Regardless of what you believe or whom you support, it is important to exercise your right to vote. You can find more information about voting at Vote.org. Trump’s Track Record on Immigration President Trump has repeatedly argued that he is tough on illegal immigration, but welcoming to legal immigrants. But the policies he has implemented while in office tell a different story. Since taking office, President Trump has enacted policies designed to curb both legal and illegal immigration such as:

• Constructing a wall along the southern border.
• Issuing multiple Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations that impose travel and immigration bans.
• Ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (i.e. DACA) and seeking the removal of DACA recipients.
• Issuing administrative decisions and publishing new Federal Regulations that narrow eligibility for asylum.
• Ending Temporary Protected Status and seeking the removal of those previously granted such status.
• Adopting the Migrant Protection Protocols, which allows Customs and Border Protection officers to return non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico while their asylum applications are adjudicated by the Immigration Court.
• Seeking criminal prosecution of asylum seekers at the border.
• Implementing policies that force asylum seekers to apply for asylum from “safe third countries,” which are often far from safe.
• Adopting family separation policies.
• Adopting policies that increase the rates of denials for military naturalizations, H-1B petitions, and refugees/asylum seekers.

According to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy, the Trump Administration will have reduced legal immigration by 2021 by 49% since becoming president. There is no indication President Trump’s policies towards illegal or legal immigration will change in a second term. Biden’s Stance on Immigration Former Vice President Biden has not only indicated he would end many of President Trump’s immigration policies, but also build an immigration system for the 21st Century. A Biden Administration would take the following action to end President Trump’s immigration policies:

• Rescind the “National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States”, which currently takes funding away from the military to build a wall on the southern border.
• Retract President Trump’s Executive Orders and Proclamations imposing travel and immigration bans.
• Reinstate, expand, and streamline protections for Dreamers as well as parents of U.S. citizens.
• Reverse the Trump Administration’s policies preventing victims of gang and domestic violence, as well as LGBTQ+ people who are unsafe in their home countries, from being eligible to apply for asylum.
• End policies denying protected entry to asylum seekers while they pursue their claims.
• End the policy of seeking criminal prosecution of asylum seekers at the border. End the policies that force asylum seekers to apply for asylum from “safe third countries,” which are far from safe.
• Halt enforcement of and rescind the expanded public charge test.

Former Vice President Biden is also proposing an overhaul to the immigration system that would:

• Provide a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented workers, caregivers, students, and children who are an essential part of the economy and the fabric of our nation. This process would be fast-tracked for workers who have been essential to the coronavirus pandemic response and recovery efforts, including health care workers and farmworkers.
• Reduce application backlogs and make the immigration process faster, more efficient, and less costly. Support legislation that ensures no future President can enact discriminatory travel and immigration bans.
• Focus on family unity by:
  • Prioritizing the reunification of children still separated from their parents as a result of the Trump Administration’s policies.
  • Restoring family reunification programs ended by President Trump.
  • Supporting legislation to treat the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents (i.e. green card holders) as immediate relatives, which will end multi-year separations.
  • Eliminating family-based green card backlogs and overhauling the system to speed up family-based visas.
  • Supporting the elimination immigration bars including the 3- and 10-year unlawful presence bars and the 10-year waiting period for filing waivers by those subject to permanent bars.
  • Expanding the annual number of visas available to victims of human trafficking and other heinous crimes.
  • Ensuring same sex-couples and their children receive equal treatment in the immigration and naturalization systems.
• Ensure law-abiding individuals with Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure are not sent back to countries where they cannot live safely, and create a path to citizenship for those who have been in the country for an extended period of time and built their lives in the United States.
• Hold employers accountable for abuses of immigrant workers.
• Adopt enforcement mechanisms that are humane and consistent with our values and international humanitarian obligations including ending workplace and community raids as well as prohibiting enforcement actions that deter access to justice at courthouses, ending programs that force state and local law enforcement to engage in immigration enforcement, and stopping the targeting those who served in uniform and their families.
• Invest in alternatives to detention, end for-profit detention centers, and restrict the detention of children to the shortest possible time.
• Reform the employment-based immigration system so that it is responsive to labor market needs as well as attracts and keeps talent in the U.S.
• Address the causes of migration including violence and insecurity, poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of educational and economic opportunity, and the impacts of climate change.

Make Your Voice Heard For detailed information on how to vote in your state, check out Vote.org. But even if you are not eligible to vote in 2020, you can still have an impact – join a local organization, amplify issues that matter to you on social media, canvass, or join a phone/text bank.