Washington, DC — Today, advocates for family-based immigration held a congressional briefing as part of the Value Our Families (VOF) coalition's release of a new national report. The report, Family-Based Immigration and Year 1 of Trump 2.0, reveals the full scope of the Trump administration’s ongoing and expanding assault on legal pathways for immigrant families to reunite safely in the U.S., including recent travel bans, limiting refugee resettlement, the shuttering of family reunification parole programs, and throwing the processing of immigration benefits into disarray. Find the full report here. 

Representatives from VOF coalition members were joined by Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) in the Cannon House Office Building to denounce the Trump administration’s callous and counterproductive crackdown on family immigration. The new VOF report helped connect the dots, using federal immigration data to frame Trump’s second term as a return to racially discriminatory systems of the early 20th century which stand in stark contrast to an immigration system that, while imperfect, has for 60 years been shaped by a focus on family reunification.

As a network of local and national community-based and advocacy organizations, VOF builds public support for an immigration system that protects family unity and contributes to this country’s social and economic fabric. The coalition supported the December reintroduction by Rep. Chu, as well as Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono, of the Reuniting Families Act, which would strengthen protections for immigrant families and address long-standing problems in a family immigration system that hasn’t seen meaningful reform in more than three decades.

“The Trump Administration’s attacks on the immigration system over the last year have thrown the lives of hundreds of thousands of people into chaos and threatened the long-term stability of the U.S.,” said Martin Kim, Director of Immigration Advocacy at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. “As this report illustrates, the effects of these attacks will be felt for years to come. As members of the Value Our Families coalition, we urge policy makers to reject the anti-immigrant policies of the last year and build a family-based immigration system that works for everyone. including immigrant families.”

"Under Trump’s regime, family separation is his immigration policy. Every single day, we see our neighbors violently kidnapped off the streets by masked individuals. We see crying children torn from the arms of their parents. And we see members of our communities who have built their lives in our country dropped into countries that are unsafe or completely unfamiliar to them,” said Representative Judy Chu of California. “That’s why, in the face of these attacks, it is so critical that we rely on accurate information and visibility from trusted sources to fight for and protect our immigrant communities. This report makes clear, with both data and real stories, exactly what these policies are doing to families across the country. And with more disaggregated immigration data, we can more effectively advance policies that bring families back together, not rip them apart.”

“Our outdated immigration system is failing our families by keeping them separated for years, sometimes decades,” said Elizabeth Taufa, Senior Policy Attorney & Strategist at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). “The Trump Administration's mass deportation tactics have worsened the family separation crisis both domestically and abroad. This report is a critical accounting of the steps that the administration has taken to eviscerate the family-based immigration system. It also highlights steps that lawmakers can take now to lessen the burden on families including passing the Reuniting Families Act, which would go a long way toward eliminating the unnecessary bureaucracy and delays and will bring relief for families who have been stuck in administrative purgatory for far too long.” 

“This important report underscores the devastating human cost of ongoing policies that block family reunification and dismantle refugee pathways,” said Danilo Zak, Director of Policy at Church World Service. "As the report notes, the closure of critical family-based humanitarian pathways has left loved ones stranded in unsafe conditions. Families on the verge of reuniting have been turned away on the tarmac. Church World Service stands with the Value Our Families Coalition in calling for the passage of the Reuniting Families Act and the restoration of humane immigration policies that reflect the core national value of family unity.”

“With over 12 million foreign-born AAPIs in the U.S., and 1 in 4 AAPI children having at least one immigrant parent or being foreign-born themselves, family reunification is not just policy for our communities. It is deeply personal,” said Ronnette Ramos, Vice President of Program at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL). “Over the last year, the Trump Administration’s actions have deepened fear, prolonged separation, and undermined lawful pathways for families trying to reunite. At AJSOCAL, we will continue fighting for an immigration system rooted in dignity, justice, and family unity.”

“As this report outlines, the Trump administration has ripped apart families and shrunk legal pathways for people to immigrate and stay in the United States – all while creating geopolitical instability that increases people’s needs to seek refuge here. This cruel Catch-22 is quickly destroying the strength and power of America. From our laws and infrastructure to our economy and opportunities, these anti-immigrant attacks also inflict incalculable damage to individuals, families, and entire communities,” said Becky Belcore, Co-Director at NAKASEC. “As a co-convener of the national coalition Value Our Families, we implore Congress, the courts, and other officials to act now to mitigate further damage – and to improve and expand existing pathways. People have always moved – whether from city to city, state to state, or country to country. What we need now is a divestment from violent rogue agencies like ICE and CBP; and an investment in legal pathways, social safety nets and programs, and a focus and prioritization of the wellbeing of our country – not billionaires’ or corporations’ bottom lines.”

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The Value Our Families Coalition exists to protect, preserve, and strengthen family immigration. We are a network of community-based and advocacy organizations promoting an immigration system informed by love, empathy, and justice, and rejecting policies that harm immigrant families. We build public support for an immigration system that protects family unity and contributes to this country’s social and economic fabric.