Policies > 10 Steps to Immediately Reform U.S. Immigration Policy in 2029

10 Steps to Immediately Reform U.S. Immigration Policy in 2029

Authors: Luke Sassa | Project 2029 Planning Chief
Angelica Schell | Project 2029 Chief Information Officer

Editor’s Note: This is the initial version of our immigration reform policy brief. This brief specifically focuses on reforms that can be rapidly implemented to achieve immediate results. Subsequent proposals will provide more detailed, long-term reforms to overhaul America’s immigration system while addressing root causes and the economic and logistical impacts of migration. If you are interested in providing Project 2029 with feedback and suggestions to inform revisions of this brief and future installments, please email hopeis@project2029.me with any feedback/suggestions you may have.

The passage of the 2025 reconciliation bill has laid the cost of aggressive nationwide immigration enforcement at the feet of American taxpayers. Officially, this bill earmarks $171 billion in taxpayer funds to support immigration enforcement over the next four years.1 However, this figure does not account for the even more significant cost of removing immigrants who would have paid more in taxes than they received in benefits, which may add nearly another $1 trillion in overall costs.2

The immigration enforcement spending outlined in this bill is currently far greater than the combined annual budgets of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).2 The reconciliation bill includes numerous provisions that will supercharge the current administration's hostile (and expensive) immigration agenda, including:

  • $45 billion (a 13-fold increase) to more than double ICE detention capacity to 116,000 beds (up from ~50,000).

  • $30 billion+ for general immigration enforcement operations, including hiring 10,000 new ICE officers.

  • $14 billion+ to incentivize local police and sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, expanding federal-local enforcement partnerships.

  • $171 billion in total immigration enforcement funding through 2029.

  • Requiring jurisdictions to share sensitive immigration data with ICE in exchange for federal funds.1

The $171 billion in federal funds earmarked for federal immigration enforcement efforts over the next four years do not address the fundamental issues that exist with our current immigration system, and instead only encourage further harm and violations of core American rights. These immense resources must be redirected to deliver an immigration system that upholds due process, strengthens our economy, and restores America’s longstanding commitment to fairness and dignity for all who call this nation home.

By creating a plan now to reverse the negative effects of the 2025 reconciliation bill, a future administration can immediately begin the work of implementing systemic immigration reforms that not only undo past damage, but also deliver better long-term outcomes for Americans and immigrants alike.

Table of Contents

Steps 1-6: Undo the Damage of Harmful Immigration Policies

Step 1: Reform ICE Tactics Through Executive Action

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become synonymous with aggressiveness and overreach. While the agency claims to target violent criminals, ICE has repeatedly engaged in tactics that violate basic civil rights, commencing large-scale arrests of people with no criminal records.2 In fact, only around 8% of ICE detainees under the current administration have been convicted of a violent crime.3 

Numerous reports have documented ICE officers operating in unmarked vehicles, wearing civilian clothes, and apprehending individuals without identifying themselves or providing justifiable cause for detaining those whom they claim to be guilty of violating the law.4 Mothers and fathers have been forcibly separated from their children, lawful immigrants have been apprehended from courthouses immediately following their immigration hearings, and law-abiding individuals falsely accused of being criminals have had their property destroyed. 

This and other violations too numerous to fully detail further underscore ICE’s documented pattern of reckless, rights-violating enforcement tactics.5 In one case, agents without a warrant smashed a car window with a pickaxe and dragged out an asylum-seeking man, only to discover they had the wrong man, while nationwide, arrests of non-criminals by ICE have surged nearly 900% under the current administration.6 2 7

Most concerning has been the current administration’s manipulation of legal immigration proceedings to entrap and arrest undocumented immigrants who have shown up to court intending to follow the legal immigration process. At immigration courthouses including Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York, Seattle, Chicago, asylum seekers with no criminal records and no legal representation have been apprehended by ICE agents immediately upon leaving their immigration hearings and whisked away in unmarked vans, ambushing people attempting to legally resolve their situation.8 

These incidents are not anomalies — they reflect an ICE agency culture that prioritizes raids and removals over due process and community trust. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), while not without its own issues, is better suited to handle frontline immigration enforcement at ports of entry and along the border. CBP’s role is more clearly defined and legally constrained, and initiatives like the CBP One app show a willingness to modernize its operations and focus on processing immigrants rather than conducting mass apprehension operations. Unlike ICE, CBP does not typically conduct raids deep within communities or detain people for routine visa overstays.

A future president seeking to effectively reform ICE’s aggressive tactics through executive action can issue a comprehensive executive order that redefines ICE’s enforcement priorities. These priorities must align with international human rights standards and those of the Executive Order 13993. Issued in 2021, this order revised the nation’s civil immigration enforcement policies and priorities to include:

  • Adhering to the due process of law.

  • Safeguarding the dignity and well-being of families and communities.

  • Addressing humanitarian challenges at the southern border.

  • Protecting national and border security.9

The executive order must address these enforcement priorities by limiting ICE operations to target a narrower category of individuals, such as those who have a criminal record, in order to halt the mass deportation of law-abiding immigrants. Domestic law enforcement agencies are responsible for apprehending those charged with committing violent crime on American soil, thereby removing that responsibility from ICE’s jurisdiction. The executive order can additionally leverage administrative tools and legal precedent, such as the Supreme Court’s July 2025 decision to allow the president to implement widespread federal agency layoffs, to accomplish the following goals:10 

  • Order a comprehensive civil rights audit of ICE enforcement practices and detention facilities, to be conducted by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and constitutional standards governing due process and equal protection.11 

  • Impose an ICE hiring freeze and halt recruitment initiatives, including current hiring initiatives targeting people with a law enforcement background.

  • Offer early retirements or buyouts to ICE agents to downsize the agency.

  • Cancel or delay contracts, particularly with private detention centers (see Step 7: End the Use of Private Immigration Detention Facilities).

  • Eliminate 287(g) agreements to prevent future cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement.

  • Reassign certain duties to CBP, especially those related to border apprehensions.

  • Update federal regulatory rules and reinterpret existing rules to narrow the scope of detention and deportation authority.

  • Prohibit workplace and community raids, as well as raids conducted at or near sensitive locations including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, except in narrowly defined, pre-approved, exigent situations (i.e., apprehending those charged with a violent crime). Expand the definition of sensitive location to include courthouses, shelters, benefits offices, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and other licensing agencies.

  • Ban masks and face coverings except in narrowly defined pre-approved situations (i.e., necessary undercover work to combat violent crime, health risks, or extreme public safety risks).

  • Mandate that agents show name tags, badge numbers, and agency affiliation at all times during public enforcement actions.

Simultaneously, it is imperative for the president to install leadership at ICE, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), CBP, and related subagencies who are ideologically aligned with this vision and committed to ceasing aggressive, inhumane immigration enforcement practices. Doing so will be an effective way to reorient the agency toward a more targeted, humane, and legally sound enforcement mission without the need for immediate congressional action. This can be supplemented through subsequent Congressional actions.

Lastly, the president can propose decreasing ICE funding in the annual budget and, regardless of congressional action, use DHS’s internal transfer authority to redirect funds to other departmental functions, such as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),which manages lawful immigration and naturalization.

Taking immediate action to narrow the agency’s scope to align with revamped national priorities, including safeguarding public safety, upholding due process, and protecting families, will replace punitive mass enforcement with a focused, principled framework that reduces harm to communities and restores a measure of justice to federal immigration enforcement.

Step 2: Restore Birthright Citizenship

On January 20, 2025, the current presidential administration issued Executive Order 14160, which attempts to unilaterally redefine birthright citizenship by excluding certain individuals born in the United States from automatic citizenship. Specifically, the order attempts to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. if their mother was unlawfully or temporarily present in the U.S. (such as on a tourist or student visa), and the father was neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident at the time of birth.12

To justify this action, the order asserts that the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.”12 This is in spite of the fact that the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) that virtually everyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen, regardless of the immigration status of their parents.13 The order directs all government departments and agencies to cease issuing documents recognizing U.S. citizenship to newborns who fall under these categories.

It is clear that the intent of this order is to punish the families of undocumented immigrants by denying American citizenship to their children, even if they are born on American soil, raised here, and know no other home. Preventing newborns who are born here in America from receiving automatic citizenship is exceedingly cruel, as it will assuredly lead to increased instances of statelessness, with many newborns not being legal citizens of any nation and therefore having no place to call home.

This executive order has faced significant legal challenges, as it not only conflicts with the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of citizenship, but also exceeds the executive branch’s constitutional authority, since Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 vests the power to regulate citizenship exclusively in Congress. 14 15 Although a federal judge agreed to issue a nationwide block against this order, the complex nature of the appeals process means that the legal battle to strike down this order is far from over.14 To definitively preserve birthright citizenship, Executive Order 14160 should be rescinded.

Step 3: Rescind the Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act

On March 15, 2025, the current presidential administration issued a presidential proclamation invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which authorized federal authorities to detain and deport Venezuelan nationals suspected of gang activity without trial.16 17 This practice violated the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process to all people within U.S. borders by failing to give alleged criminals an opportunity to prove their innocence.18

Since then, federal authorities have justified unilaterally deporting people without due process for arbitrary reasons, often relying on flimsy evidence to support their decisions, including deporting a man with a soccer-themed tattoo that was loosely interpreted to be a gang symbol. 19 20 Of the initial 238 migrants flown to a maximum security prison in El Salvador using the Alien Enemies Act, 75% reportedly had no identifiable criminal record, and only a dozen or so had been previously accused of any violent crime.21

The Alien Enemies Act was written to allow the U.S. government to detain, restrict, or deport citizens of a hostile foreign nation during times of declared war. In framing the presence of foreign gangs as a form of invasion, the administration has misapplied the Act’s wartime intent to hastily deport numerous immigrants with no criminal record or verifiable gang affiliation.22 This sets a dangerous precedent for arbitrary removals of any foreign nationals without due process in the future. Although the Supreme Court issued a ruling that will now allow detainees to challenge their detention under the Alien Enemies Act, the invocation of the Act must be rescinded in its entirety.23

The dangers of misapplying the Alien Enemies Act are not merely theoretical. During World War II, the Act was cited in tandem with Executive Order 9066 to justify the mass relocation and internment of nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, roughly two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens born and raised in America.24 25 This occurred despite the Munson Report of 1941, which concluded there was no evidence of Japanese American disloyalty or plans for uprising. 26 27

The internment program was later acknowledged to have inflicted hardship upon Japanese-Americans despite a lack of military necessity, with President Reagan acknowledging these actions as a “grave wrong” while signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1987, which provided restitution payment to 60,000 surviving Japanese-Americans who had been detained and relocated. 28 29

This historical misuse of the Alien Enemies Act underscores the profound risks of permitting its invocation today, particularly as deportations are increasingly funneled through private detention facilities that may lack robust oversight. Rescinding this invocation will be a crucial step in restoring due process for immigration cases and protecting the rights of those who are falsely accused of crimes.

Step 4: Restore and Expand the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families

The 2018 Zero Tolerance policy mandated that all adults crossing the border without authorization be criminally charged under 8 U.S.C. § 1325.30 31 Since any children of those charged may not legally be held in criminal custody, this triggered family separations. As a result, over 5,000 children, including infants, were separated from their parents directly due to this policy, with many lacking proper records.32 This caused trauma for innocent children and their parents, chaotic reunification efforts, and a legacy of government-inflicted harm condemned by medical and human rights groups.

Past studies have indicated that thousands of children who have been separated from their families due to deportation efforts have been placed in the American foster care system.33 Not only do family separation policies inflict trauma on innocent children, some of whom are U.S. citizens born in America, but they also put a strain on public resources since these children no longer have their parents present to provide for them. This can lead to worse outcomes in education, health, and overall childhood development for both migrant children and American children in need due to fewer overall child care resources available.

To help heal the traumatic impact of ICE’s mass deportations on longstanding U.S. community members who have been separated from their family members under the current administration, as well as those who were separated from their families at the southern border under the Zero-Tolerance Policy, it is essential to restore and build upon Executive Order 14011. The order ensured that children entering the United States would no longer be separated from their families (except under rare circumstances when it is necessary for their safety) while also establishing an Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families within the Department of Homeland Security.34

This task force was responsible for identifying all children who were separated from their families at the United States-Mexico border in connection with the operation of the Zero-Tolerance Policy, and facilitating the reunification of each of the identified children with their respective families. The executive order also stipulated that affected children and families may receive mental health services to address the psychological toll of this ordeal.

The task force was composed of:

  • The Secretary of Homeland Security (serving as Chair). 

  • The Secretary of State (serving as a Vice Chair).

  • The Secretary of Health and Human Services (serving as a Vice Chair).

  • The Attorney General.

  • Other officers from the State Department, DOJ, HHS, DHS, and any other relevant government agencies.34

When reviving this executive order under a future administration, its scope can be expanded to include all parents who are currently being separated from their children and families as a result of ICE’s mass deportations. With families once again being separated from one another across international borders, our nation must do what it can to help reunite children with their mothers and fathers.

Step 5: Dismantle Surveillance Infrastructure that Enables Mass Deportation

On March 20, 2025, the current administration quietly issued Executive Order 14243, known as "Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos." Framed as a government modernization initiative, this order dismantles information silos in the federal government and enables sweeping intra- and inter-agency access to vast troves of unclassified federal and state-level data.35 By collapsing information silos, this order opens the door for the federal government to combine smaller agency databases into a singular unified database on every person residing in the U.S., documented or not.

While this order was announced as an effort to improve government efficiency, it has raised significant concerns in light of revelations about Palantir Technologies' deepening involvement with federal data systems.36 Palantir, known for its extensive work with U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, has been instrumental in developing platforms that aggregate and analyze vast amounts of personal data. By creating a centralized database on all undocumented immigrants and citizens alike, without adequate oversight the executive order facilitates the expansion of surveillance capabilities for monitoring the U.S. population.

The creation of a centralized database is particularly troubling given Palantir's history of enabling predictive policing and its role in controversial immigration enforcement activities. The absence of guardrails means that data collected for one purpose, such as filing taxes, registering a vehicle, or visiting a hospital, may now be repurposed to carry out raids, deportations, or investigations.The broad scope of the order, coupled with the lack of stringent safeguards, may lead to the erosion of privacy rights and civil liberties. Given Palantir's expanding footprint in federal data operations, this executive order paves the way for unprecedented levels of government surveillance of both undocumented immigrants and legal citizens.

Most troubling with regards to data sharing, on April 7, the IRS violated longstanding norms by agreeing to share taxpayer information with ICE, a move so extreme that the Acting IRS Commissioner resigned in protest. The agreement allows ICE to access names, addresses, and financial data on:

Individuals with final immigration orders of removal, and/or

Those under criminal investigation (including civil violations like overstaying a visa).37

According to reports, ICE plans to use this data to locate up to 7 million taxpayers out of the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.—nearly 80% of whom have lived here for at least 15 years and are otherwise law-abiding.37 38 In doing so, ICE is exploiting information that immigrant taxpayers voluntarily submitted under the assumption it would remain confidential, using it instead to locate, apprehend, and deport individuals who have long been contributing members of their communities.

This policy poses a serious threat not only to immigrant communities but to the nation as a whole. In previous years, undocumented immigrants have contributed over $95 billion annually in federal taxes.39 However, fear of deportation may now discourage many from filing their taxes. Studies show that even a 1% decline in tax compliance may reduce federal revenue by $40 billion.37 Coupled with workforce losses from mass deportations, these policies risk destabilizing communities and local economies.

On a constitutional level, this type of government surveillance directly violates the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”40 To prevent deportation operations from intruding on the lives of law-abiding residents, a future administration must immediately issue a sweeping executive order to prevent these types of data aggregation and sharing activities. The order should:

  • Bar data-sharing agreements between the ICE and any agency collecting personal or administrative data, including the IRS, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and any schooling, utilities, and medical databases;

  • Sever all federal contracts with Palantir and similar entities;

  • Establish wind-down timelines for remaining contracts that cannot be canceled immediately;

  • Prohibit the renewal of any future contracts with such firms;

  • Revoke security clearances held by employees of these firms;

  • Mandate the destruction of centralized data systems that aggregate personal data on immigrants and citizens alike;

  • Launch an independent task force to audit data-sharing and surveillance operations across DHS, DOJ, and affiliated agencies, with a mandate to develop a privacy-centered replacement framework that establishes boundaries between individual agency databases.

Ending the government’s reliance on invasive corporate surveillance is not just a matter of immigration policy—it is a matter of democracy, civil rights, and trust.

Step 6: Ensure Inclusive Census Enumeration

Dating back to 1790, the U.S. Census has counted all people residing in the country, not just citizens.41 The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 2) mandates a census every 10 years to apportion seats in the House of Representatives and specifies counting the "whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed."42 This language, especially since the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause was introduced, has been interpreted to mean all U.S. residents, regardless of:

  • Citizenship status

  • Immigration status

  • Voting eligibility 43

The Constitution specifically requires this to be done to ensure that House seats are distributed based on the total population, not just citizens or eligible voters. Excluding undocumented immigrants from the census would artificially shrink the recorded population of diverse, populous states, costing them seats in Congress and billions in federal funding, while over-representing less diverse regions.

Most critically, local and state governments use census data to inform resource allocation decision-making processes. Community resources, including schools, public transit, nutrition assistance, hospitals, and emergency services, require accurate local headcounts to ensure they receive adequate funding to meet their constituents’ needs. If undocumented residents are excluded from the census, the number of people who rely on these services would be undercounted, causing services to fall short for all residents, including citizens.

Despite the clear constitutional mandate and logistical need to count all people residing in the U.S. on the census, the current administration undermined this process by rescinding Executive Order 13986. 44 Known as “Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census,” this order specifically directed the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that the 2020 Census counted all people residing in the U.S., regardless of immigration status, and removed previous executive action that attempted to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count.45 Revoking Executive Order 13986 puts at risk the value and integrity of the U.S. Census by removing this guidance.

With the 2030 census fast approaching, Executive Order 13986’s directives must be restored and augmented with additional guidance directing the U.S. Census Bureau to enhance outreach in immigrant-heavy communities. Doing so will ensure the inclusion of all U.S. residents when tallying the census, including those who are undocumented. These directives must include explicit prohibitions on the sharing of personally identifiable census data with immigration enforcement agencies, including ICE, reaffirming the Census Bureau’s statutory data confidentiality protections under 13 U.S.C. § 9.46

This executive action may be paired with legislation that prevents the U.S. Census Bureau from excluding undocumented immigrants from the census count, which will further safeguard this policy beyond a single presidential administration. By taking a proactive approach, the federal government can ensure the Census Bureau tallies a precisely accurate census, thus allowing all states to be represented fairly and have their needs adequately met.

Steps 7-10: Deliver on Long-Overdue Immigration Reforms

Step 7: End the Use of Private Immigration Detention Facilities

To truly begin building a fair and just immigration system, our nation must eradicate the profit motive of detaining undocumented immigrants by barring the use of private detention facilities. Currently, around 90% of all ICE detainees are held in privately contracted facilities.47 This results in a system in which the incarceration of migrants directly enriches private corporations.

Our immigration system must prioritize fairness over greed and justice over profit. As the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General found in 2016, privately operated criminal detention facilities have been linked to substandard levels of safety and security.48 The inadequate medical care, abusive treatment, lack of oversight, and frequent violations of detainee rights that immigrants are subjected to within the current system are clear evidence that profit-driven detention undermines human dignity and public accountability.

To put a stop to this profit-driven system of apprehension and detainment, a future administration can issue an executive order modeled after Executive Order 14006, which instructed the Attorney General to end DOJ contracts with private prisons.47 This new, expanded order must direct the leadership of ICE, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the CBP Commissioner, and the Attorney General to similarly end such contracts. This includes action to:

  • Cease renewing or signing new contracts with privately operated immigration detention centers;

  • Identify and terminate existing private facility contracts wherever legally permissible;

  • Establish wind-down timelines for remaining contracts that cannot be canceled immediately; and

  • Shift capacity away from detention and toward Alternatives to Detention (ATDs), such as community-based case management in routine immigration cases involving immigrants with no criminal record. ATDs are more humane, cost-effective, and better at ensuring compliance with immigration proceedings.

This step will mark a meaningful shift toward a rights-respecting immigration system that reflects our democratic values, rather than outsourcing enforcement to private actors whose bottom line depends on prolonged incarceration.

Step 8: Improve Migration Safety, the Asylum Process, and Border Security

Our nation must initiate an overhaul of the immigration process at the southern border by adopting meaningful, systemic immigration reforms.The current immigration process does not benefit immigrants or American citizens. Within the current system: 

  • There is a backlog of nearly 3.7 million immigration cases in the U.S., while estimated wait times for asylum cases can range from 4.3 to more than 6 years.49 50

  • Disjointed vetting processes can pose a risk to national security when inconsistencies in border security allow bad actors, including MS-13 gang members, to stealthily enter the United States.51

  • Under-resourced American communities have dealt with a strain on public resources, including housing supply, due to unexpected surges in migrant arrivals, which often stems from poor planning and coordination on a national level.52

  • Within the past decade, roughly 1 in 3 migrant women and 17% of migrant men reported being sexually abused during their journey through Mexico to the U.S., while 1 in 10 women reported being a victim of rape.53

  • Latino asylum-seeking families have reported posttraumatic distress rates that are 161-204% higher than non-immigrant counterparts.54

It is clear that immediate actions are needed to address these issues. These actions must strengthen border security, alleviate pressure on local communities, restore functionality to a deeply overburdened system, and remain fiscally responsible, all without sacrificing our legal, moral, and constitutional commitments to the immigrant community. Organizations like the American Immigration Council (AIC) recommend issuing executive orders that accomplish many of the following logistical goals:55

  • Directing the DHS to redirect as many personnel and resources as possible to the CBP’s Office of Field Operations to create more processing centers along the border and expand appointment capabilities. This will ensure that migration and asylum requests are processed in a safer, more secure, timely, and documented manner.

  • Directing the State Department to coordinate with Mexico and refugee aid organizations to increase shelter capacity on Mexico’s side of the border, thereby reducing the strain on American resources. Mexico may be encouraged to partner on this effort by tying foreign aid and security cooperation to progress on shelter expansion. As a key regional partner, Mexico must share responsibility for managing hemispheric migration in a manner that upholds safety, order, and regional stability. The State Department can also offer grants to eligible non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that apply to expand or improve migrant housing and services in Mexico.

  • Directing the State Department to coordinate with Mexico to increase security around ports of entry, with a mandate to eliminate the presence of cartels from all controllable aspects of the immigration process. This directive will bolster border security and protect vulnerable asylum seekers who might otherwise be exploited by ruthless cartels.

  • Directing the Secretaries of State, Homeland Security, and Defense, as well as the Director of National Intelligence, to coordinate and intensify law enforcement and intelligence-sharing operations against transnational criminal enterprises and individuals that exploit vulnerable migrants and pose a risk to national security.

  • Directing CBP to increase the hiring of Border Patrol Processing Coordinators to improve humanitarian processing capabilities.

  • Directing DHS to create a Center for Migrant Coordination (CMO) to bring together all relevant DHS subagencies, the HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, eligible NGOs, and state and local governments. The CMO must include a mandate to standardize practices and procedures for migrant transport, release, and assistance between all relevant stakeholders. This will help to reduce situations where stakeholders and communities are unprepared for unexpected migrant arrivals and lack resources due to poor communication.

  • Directing agencies, including ICE, CBP, USCIS, and the DOJ, to adopt universal and consistent standards for alternatives to detention (ATDs) for low-risk individuals, including SmartLINK smartphone app check-ins, case management programs, and NGO-led community support programs, all of which can save the federal government billions by reducing the number of unnecessary immigrant detainees.

  • Directing ICE attorneys in the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) to use prosecutorial discretion to administratively close or dismiss removal proceedings for long-time residents and focus only on high-threat cases, helping to significantly reduce the case backlog and prevent legal resources from being wasted on trying to remove undocumented residents who do not pose any threat to the public.

  • Directing the DOJ to coordinate with legal firms in the private sector to develop pro bono counsel models for individuals currently lacking legal protection as they navigate removal proceedings. 

The AIC also recommends accompanying congressional legislation to accomplish these goals, much of which may potentially be accomplished through budget reconciliation to avoid the filibuster and ensure passage with a simple Senate majority. Legislative goals include:55

  • Urging Congress to provide the CBP’s Office of Field Operations with significant funding resources to bolster staffing and physical infrastructure in support of a more efficient asylum processing operation. This funding increase can be enacted through budget reconciliation, provided it is structured as a direct appropriation or mandatory spending provision with a clear budgetary impact. 

  • Pushing Congress to fund a substantial increase in CBP’s humanitarian processing budget to enable the hiring of additional Border Patrol Processing Coordinators and medical personnel, and to support necessary infrastructure. This funding increase can also be enacted through budget reconciliation by structuring it as a direct appropriation or mandatory spending provision. This funding must come with strings attached, including requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct annual audits of CBP to ensure spending exclusively addresses the humanitarian processing of migrants.

  • Providing congressional funding in future reconciliation budgets to support the work of the Center for Migrant Coordination, which will be tasked with coordinating migration logistics between relevant agencies, NGOs, and local governments. Congress can also provide critical funding to specific NGOs and local governments to establish local outreach centers for migrants going through the asylum process.

  • Ensuring Congress re-commits to funding the Case Management Pilot Program while also expanding funding for community-based case management ATDs, as well as the asylum adjudication system.

  • Building on the 2022 congressional appropriation for Joint Processing Centers in future budgets by further clarifying their purpose, expanding their use beyond CBP and ICE, providing NGOs an opportunity to give input, and ensuring robust oversight through GAO audits and active monitoring from the DHS Office of the Inspector General.

  • Encouraging Congress to create a pilot program that provides counsel to individuals currently lacking legal protection as they navigate removal proceedings. 

  • Establishing a congressionally-mandated emergency migration contingency fund that permits FEMA to distribute emergency funds to local governments, NGOs, the DHS, and other relevant entities to address unforeseen immigration challenges, such as large-scale migration events that overwhelm federal and local capacity. This funding can be pursued through the budget reconciliation process by ensuring it has a direct budgetary impact, which will allow for automatic budgetary renewals. This fund must be tightly scoped for humanitarian and logistical purposes only, with statutory guardrails prohibiting its use for detention, enforcement, or deportation. 

By coupling immediate executive action with ensuing legislative action, a future administration can take both immediate and long-lasting steps to improve migration safety, the asylum process, and border security.

Step 9: Create Pathways to Legal Residency and Citizenship

Millions of undocumented immigrants have lived in the U.S. for years, and often for decades, contributing to their communities, raising families, paying taxes, and strengthening the cultural and economic fabric of American life. This is especially true for the estimated 3 million Dreamers living in the U.S., who came to the U.S. as children through no choice of their own and know no other home but America.56

Despite lacking legal status, undocumented immigrants are overwhelmingly peaceful, law-abiding residents. Multiple studies confirm that immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens and are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born citizens.57 A 2021 study from the Justice Department found that immigrants were ten times less likely than U.S.-born citizens to be incarcerated for committing weapons-related offenses, five times less likely for violent offenses, and more than two times less likely for property crimes and drug offenses.58 In fact, unauthorized immigration is correlated with no discernible effect on violent crime rates.

Given their deep roots in American communities, positive economic and civic contributions, and low rates of criminal activity, it is clear that these long-standing undocumented residents must to be protected from deportation, while also being given the chance to earn legal residency and eventually American citizenship through a fair process. 

A future administration can begin by taking executive action to bolster existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections for Dreamers. A 2021 presidential memorandum directed the Secretary of Homeland Security and Attorney General to take all appropriate actions to preserve and fortify DACA, specifically by “[deferring] the removal of certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, have obeyed the law, and stayed in school or enlisted in the military.”59 Although subsequent federal court rulings have constrained the ability of the federal government to accept new DACA applicants, executive action can still be taken to streamline the renewal process for existing DACA recipients to protect them from being unfairly deported.

Outside of DACA, a future administration can also take executive action to expand the use of parole in place (PIP), which allows certain undocumented immigrants already residing in the U.S. without legal status to lawfully remain. Traditionally limited to military families, PIP can be expanded under existing authority (8 CFR § 212.5), which permits the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant parole on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or “significant public benefit,” as long as the individual is not a security or flight risk.60 61

Importantly, PIP is an affirmative benefit and does not require applicants to be in removal proceedings or attend a court hearing. Its scope may be extended to include undocumented parents of U.S. citizens or green card holders, long-term residents with deep community ties, and essential workers in critical sectors whose continued presence clearly serves the public interest. Unlike deferred action, PIP can offer a pathway to permanent legal status for certain recipients.60 61

In tandem, the president can direct the DHS to issue new, narrowly tailored deferred action guidance for broader categories of undocumented individuals who cannot benefit from PIP, including Dreamers currently excluded from DACA and longtime residents. This protection will shield them from deportation and make them eligible for renewable two-year work permits under 8 CFR § 274a.12(c)(14).62

Given past legal setbacks, such guidance may be implemented through formal notice-and-comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act to maximize legal durability.63 To better address backlogs and workforce needs, USCIS must use its authority under 8 CFR § 274a.13(d) to expedite employment authorization for those in legal pipelines, such as asylum seekers and parolees, to ensure faster access to lawful work while legislative solutions are pursued.64

In addition, the president can direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to use existing humanitarian parole authority to waive certain technical grounds of inadmissibility, such as prior unlawful presence or entry without inspection, for otherwise eligible immigrants. This targeted use of parole authority will remove long-standing procedural barriers that block access to permanent legal status for thousands of long-term residents who meet all substantive criteria but are excluded on narrow technicalities.

To ensure the success of these efforts, a future administration must establish a dedicated DHS Pathways to Legal Residency Task Force to coordinate across programs such as DACA, PIP, and deferred action, as well as with state and local governments. This task force shall oversee expanded staffing and training at USCIS field offices, ensure consistent processing standards, lead public information campaigns to encourage eligible immigrants to apply, and encourage cities and states to offer ID cards and integration programs that prepare immigrants for full legalization. Immediately establishing this administrative foundation will help to prevent future bottlenecks and allow for a smoother rollout of these initiatives.

A future administration needs to strongly urge Congress to modernize the outdated immigration registry cutoff date, which currently limits green card eligibility to individuals who have continuously resided in the U.S. since before 1972. 65 Updating this date to reflect more recent decades will provide a long-overdue pathway to legal status for potentially millions of undocumented immigrants with deep ties to the country. This reform can plausibly be pursued through the budget reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority vote in the Senate, provided it meets the Byrd Rule's budgetary requirements. Adjusting the registry date may also qualify, as it would generate increased fee-based application revenue and long-term tax contributions from newly legalized residents.

While legislative action is required to move the registry date forward, the executive branch can begin preparing by identifying likely eligible populations, streamlining background check protocols, and creating expedited processing pipelines. Such preemptive work will enable applications to be processed efficiently and equitably if and when Congress acts.

To further bolster the longevity of these reforms, it is imperative for a future administration to pursue additional congressional action, including:

  • Introducing formal DACA legislation to codify DACA protections for Dreamers. While DACA was originally created via executive memorandum, codifying these protections would bypass court rulings that restrict current DACA protections. This will enable new action to expand DACA protections to other groups and accept new applicants.

  • Reviving and passing the Dream Act to provide a pathway to legal status through college, work, or the armed services for undocumented immigrants who arrived in America as children, as well as documented Dreamers who entered the U.S. on their parents’ temporary work visa but risk losing temporary legal status once they turn 21. Such legislation shall include provisions requiring Dreamers to have a clean record (while allowing the DHS to waive certain criminal offenses for humanitarian purposes), with hardship waivers also available for those unable to meet the education, work, or armed services requirements.66

  • Resurrecting and passing the U.S. Citizenship Act. First introduced in 2021, this Act will fast-track citizenship for Dreamers, agriculture workers, and those with temporary protected status by rendering them eligible to receive a green card, while also creating an 8-year path for undocumented immigrants present in the U.S. before a specific date.67

  • Pursuing budget reconciliation funding for USCIS infrastructure, including digitized application systems, expanded staffing, and adjudication capacity, since each of these provisions carries direct spending implications that can satisfy the Byrd rule.

Step 10: Create an Immigrant Bill of Rights

America is a nation of immigrants. The United States has welcomed immigrants dating back to its colonial origins when Puritans fled persecution in Europe. Ellis Island, the nation’s most famous immigration station, welcomed over 12 million immigrants through its doors.68 Nearly 40% of Americans (~136 million Americans) trace at least one ancestor to Ellis Island, while approximately 98% of non-native Americans have immigrant heritage.69 70

Immigrants have shaped America’s past and future by founding companies like Google and Uber, winning over a third of U.S. science Nobel Prizes, filing nearly a quarter of all patents, and performing essential jobs with unmatched dedication and grit.71 72 73 In continuing America’s longstanding tradition of welcoming hardworking immigrants and honoring the shared heritage of those who have passed through Ellis Island, the southern border and beyond, a future administration must pass a sweeping executive order establishing an Immigrant Bill of Rights. Such an order must protect existing immigrant rights, end harmful enforcement practices, and promote economic fairness and human dignity to uplift our immigrant communities, while adhering to strict implementation timelines to ensure these policies are enacted swiftly.

Ending the Criminalization of Immigrants in America

It is critical for this order to direct the Attorney General to issue new prosecutorial guidance directing federal prosecutors to deprioritize prosecutions under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1325 and 1326 (unauthorized entry and reentry), except in cases involving fraud or serious public safety threats.31 74 Specifically, first time improper entry must be treated as a civil violation, consistent with the discretion afforded in 8 U.S.C. § 1325, rather than a criminal offense, particularly when no prior record or intent to deceive is involved. 

The order shall also direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to adopt complementary guidance to treat unauthorized entry as a civil matter in most cases, prioritizing the referral of migrants to asylum processing and humanitarian screenings over punitive criminal enforcement practices that have historically separated families, escalated trauma, and undermined due process.

To begin repairing the damage caused by decades of overcriminalization, presidential clemency powers should be used proactively. A new Immigration Clemency Task Force within the DOJ can be authorized to review and recommend pardons, sentence commutations, or case closures for individuals prosecuted under §§ 1325 or 1326 who have no criminal history and pose no threat to public safety.

Terminating Family Separation Policies and Protecting Family Integrity

The Secretary of Homeland Security must be directed to immediately cease any existing Zero Tolerance policies and ban the separation of families at the border or during enforcement actions except in rare, court-approved circumstances where an immediate safety risk exists. Both ICE and CBP must be directed to treat family unity as a presumptive right.

Guaranteeing Fifth Amendment Due Process & Miranda Rights for All Present in the U.S.

ICE must receive a directive stipulating that no immigrant shall be unilaterally deported to a third country aside from their country of origin since doing so erodes legal protections for migrants, unless an individualized safety assessment determines that to be the best course of action for the migrant’s safety and wellbeing. This shall include rescinding the “Expanding Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to Full Capacity” presidential memorandum, which directs the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.75

To address 5th amendment violations under the current administration, the DHS must establish a task force to identify migrants who have been deported to third countries and return them to the U.S. or their country of origin should conditions allow. The DOJ must also receive guidance to work with Congress to enact legislation establishing legal representation for individuals in immigration detention, removal, and deportation proceedings, and requiring collaboration with pro bono networks and law firms specializing in immigration law in the interim to ensure improved access to legal representation.

In addition, all migrants detained by ICE or other federal immigration authorities must be explicitly advised of their constitutional rights at the time of apprehension. The Supreme Court has affirmed that the protections of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments apply to “persons” within the United States, not solely to citizens, and that custodial interrogations must be preceded by Miranda warnings to safeguard against compelled self-incrimination.76 77 Yet ICE has routinely skirted this requirement by classifying immigration detention as a “civil” matter, thereby avoiding the requirement to issue Miranda warnings in criminal matters, despite interrogations often being used to build cases that result in deportation or criminal charges. 78 79 80 81

To eliminate this ambiguity, Congress, the DOJ, and the DHS must issue statutory and regulatory guidance mandating that Miranda rights be read to any individual in federal immigration custody prior to questioning, regardless of whether proceedings are designated as civil or criminal. DHS shall also be directed to implement clear training and accountability measures for all immigration enforcement officers to ensure compliance, and to remove evidence in immigration proceedings that is obtained in violation of these protections.

Giving Immigrants a Shot at the American Dream

This order shall direct the Department of Labor to increase audits of employers for wage theft, safety violations, and coercive practices that target immigrant workers, with the goal of identifying repeat offenders. Employers found to exploit immigrant workers by compromising safety and pay shall be fined in accordance with federal labor law. The DHS shall protect undocumented workers who report labor law violations from employer retaliation by instructing ICE and USCIS to pause enforcement actions against workers involved in legitimate labor complaints. Instead, deferred action or parole may be considered for these individuals.

Both the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall be required to jointly issue regulations that: 

  • Raise wage floors for H-1B and H-2B workers to protect both immigrant and U.S. workers.

  • Allow broader categories of employers, including nonprofits and rural employers, to qualify for H-1B exemptions.

  • Permit foreign graduates of U.S. universities to receive green cards upon graduation, especially in STEM fields. The DOL and DHS should work with Congress to secure legislative support if needed.

  • Cap the total time individuals can remain on temporary work visas without employer-sponsored green card offers.

  • Expand visa portability to allow immigrant workers to change employers without losing legal status.

Addressing American Influence on the Root Causes of Migration

The U.S. State Department shall be directed to implement regulations that require comprehensive impact assessments of all foreign and trade policies to ensure they do not exacerbate the economic, social, or environmental conditions driving migration. A cross-agency Migration Impact Task Force shall be established, including representatives from State, Treasury, Commerce, and DHS, to coordinate regular policy reviews while engaging with regional experts and affected communities.

These measures will ensure that U.S. foreign and trade policies actively avoid worsening the root causes of migration and promote sustainable development and stability in migrants’ countries of origin.

Creating a Sense of Belonging for Immigrants

Agencies like the Department of Transportation, HHS, DHS, and the DOJ can be directed to prioritize or award competitive grants (i.e., for public safety, transportation, emergency preparedness, community development) to states that:

  • Provide state or local ID access to all residents, regardless of immigration status;

  • Allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses;

  • and operate inclusive community integration programs.

Doing so will incentivize states to adopt inclusive practices to better integrate immigrant communities.

Verifying Compliance with the Immigrant Bill of Rights

By creating an White House Immigrant Rights Council, a future administration can monitor compliance with this order, report to the President quarterly, and work with the DHS, DOJ, DOL, State Department, and HHS to ensure that immigrant rights are effectively enforced across agencies, including strict adherence to the 1967 U.N. Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and its protections.82

Endnotes:

How the GOP Megabill Would Turbocharge Local Immigration Enforcement, https://boltsmag.org/how-the-gop-megabill-would-turbocharge-local-immigration-enforcement/ (accessed July 3, 2025)

  1. (How the GOP Megabill Would Turbocharge Local Immigration Enforcement, https://boltsmag.org/how-the-gop-megabill-would-turbocharge-local-immigration-enforcement/ (accessed July 3, 2025)

  2. Deportations to Add Almost $1 Trillion in Costs to the “Big Beautiful Bill”, https://www.cato.org/blog/deportations-add-almost-1-trillion-costs-gops-big-beautiful-bill (accessed August 16, 2025)

  3. Despite administration rhetoric, ICE heavily targets non-criminals, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/11/deportation-ice-criminals-campaign-polling/ (accessed July 3, 2025)

  4. ICE detentions of non-criminal immigrants spike; about 8% have violent convictions, analysis of new data shows, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-detentions-non-criminal-immigrants-violent-crime-convictions-analysis/ (accessed July 8, 2025)

  5. Growing calls for police to show ID and face amid rise in ICE impersonators, https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/growing-calls-for-police-to-identify-and-uncover-face-amid-rise-in-ice-impersonators/3730630/ (accessed August 1, 2025)

  6. ICE raids leave abandoned pets and property in their wake, https://www.axios.com/2025/07/31/ice-raids-abandoned-pets-cars-lawmowers (accessed August 1, 2025)

  7. ICE Officers Literally Smash Car Window Open—to Arrest Wrong Man, https://newrepublic.com/post/194117/ice-officers-smash-car-window-arrest-wrong-man (accessed July 3, 2025)

  8. ICE agents wait in hallways of immigration court as Trump seeks to deliver on mass arrest pledge, https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/immigration/2025/05/22/ice-agents-hallways-immigration-court-mass-arrest-pledge (accessed July 3, 2025)

  9. Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01768/revision-of-civil-immigration-enforcement-policies-and-priorities (accessed July 3, 2025)

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Project 2029 is a citizen-led initiative that develops policies and ideas that serve all Americans and address the systems that do not. Want to contribute? Join the Project 2029 Organizer’s Team. We welcome organizers with various backgrounds and skills, including policy development, volunteer management, marketing, and more.  Volunteers of different skill levels and abilities are welcome to participate.