Sign Our Policy Platform Pledge

HIAS is collecting the signatures of thousands of Jewish community members and leaders on this call to action, which will be delivered to elected officials and campaigns in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. election. Please sign at the link below. 

We, Jewish leaders and advocates from across the United States, share a vision for our country that values the contributions of immigrants, welcomes refugees, and upholds the safety and dignity of all those who were forced to flee their homes. 

In an election season defined by xenophobia, fear, and lies, we pledge to stand firmly in solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers and to advocate for their rights and safety.   

We call on all candidates to reject the politics of hatred and fear, to reject the impulse to seal our borders and turn on our own neighbors and community members. The challenges facing our country can instead be met with common-sense solutions. It’s time to embrace welcome, safety, and opportunity, and it’s time for action. 

We call for:  

• Investment in an effective asylum system, with increased staffing for immigration court staff, interpreters, immigration judges, and asylum officers. 

• Fair, effective, and humane border policies that both protect people’s right to seek safety and support border security. 

• Repeal harmful policies that deny the right to asylum. Ongoing efforts to curtail arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border are neither effective nor humane. People fleeing for their lives must have access to safety. 

• Quick access to work permits for people seeking asylum in the U.S. so that they can become economically self-sufficient while they wait for their case to be adjudicated and so they can contribute economically to their communities. 

• A robust annual target number and arrival of resettled refugees through the United States Refugee Admissions Program. Annual resettlement targets must be supported by appropriate funding to ensure that these commitments can be met. 

• Annual extension and reauthorization of the Lautenberg Amendment which allows religious minorities, including Jews, to come to the U.S. to reunite with their loved ones.  

• Expanded legal pathways to entry and residency in the U.S. – including increased access to work visas and additional family reunification opportunities. 

 Our most sacred Jewish texts, which recount our community’s history of persecution and migration, emphasize the importance of treating newcomers with kindness. In a moment when violent rhetoric against immigrants, Jews, and other populations is being used as a political tool, we know that the safety of all communities is intertwined, that our futures are connected.  We were welcomed, we welcome others, and we will always stand for welcome.