AILA Executive Director Laments Passage of Reconciliation Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) strongly condemns the passage of the reconciliation bill, which represents a stunning failure to uphold American values and priorities. In response, Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), stated:

“This bill is a profound disappointment. Instead of advancing practical, humane immigration reforms, Congress chose to funnel unprecedented resources into the Administration’s ruthless deportation machine, at the very moment the President is openly threatening to detain and deport U.S. citizens—a betrayal of American values so extreme it threatens the citizenship rights of us all.

“All this, at the expense of programs Americans rely upon in their daily lives, especially healthcare. This betrays our most basic constitutional principles and is a chilling escalation of executive overreach.

“This legislation fails our nation on every front. It abandons critical efforts to address backlogs in the legal immigration system while creating needless barriers to a functional immigration system. Worse, it makes our communities less safe and less secure by doubling down on fear-based policies that are already proven to be costly and ineffective. Those caught in the crosshairs will be not only newly-arrived immigrants and long-term residents who are part of the fabric of American communities, but also U.S. citizens both naturalized and U.S. born. It ignores the vital role immigrants play in our economy and community life, while pouring billions into a system that inflicts harm rather than offering hope, stability, and due process.

“America deserves an immigration system that reflects our values and our interests, not one that undermines the rule of law and weaponizes enforcement against our own neighbors. This is unacceptable. The American people must hold those in Congress who passed this bill to account.”