From the ACLU, this is at Liberty.

I'm Kendall Seasmeyer, your host.

At the end of 2023, migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a record high of 250,000, with a surge of individuals

and families entering cities like Chicago, Denver, New York, Houston, and Los Angeles. Despite this,

politicians and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, continue to struggle to meet demands and

refuse to compromise on border policies, leaving the well-being of asylum seekers in jeopardy.

In early February, a sweeping supplemental funding package for national security failed in the Senate.

This package would have eviscerated protections for people seeking asylum in exchange for unrelated foreign aid

by imposing shutdowns to the U.S.-Mexico border

and an unprecedented increase in funding for punitive immigration policies

through taxpayer dollars, among other harsh measures.

We know that cruel immigration policies do not stop migration.

Instead, they simply put more people in danger. As the conversation

about border control and immigration becomes steeped in election near politics, it's imperative for

us to mobilize lawmakers and political leaders to pass humane and effective immigration policies

that meet the dire needs of the current moment. Here to update us on the state of immigration policy today,

and its significance as an issue for this election year,

is Noreen Shah, deputy director of governmental affairs

for the ACLU's Equality Division.

Noreen, welcome to Out Liberty, and thank you so much for joining me.

Thanks for having me, Kendall.

So, Noreen, I want to start with addressing the current moment that we're sitting in.

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