{
  "id": 19249335,
  "title": "Will the Democrats Bungle Immigration—Again?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/will-the-democrats-bungle-immigration-again",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-09T23:52:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/11/immigration-trump-border-asylum/689318/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) suggests that the Democrats may repeat the mistakes that led to Donald Trump's return to office two years ago. Critics argue that the ACLU and other immigration advocates are recirculating the same arguments that have been made for years, instead of proposing realistic solutions to combat illegal immigration. The ACLU's proposal to tackle the underlying issues that push people to leave their countries and provide more legal pathways for migrants has not proven effective in curbing illegal immigration. Instead, the group continues to believe that enforcement at the border, including restrictions on asylum eligibility, will not deter illegal immigration; rather, it will generate demand and drive migrants to take more hazardous routes. The United States' inability to swiftly remove individuals who do not have legal authorization to stay in the country has been a key factor in every significant increase in illegal immigration since the Obama administration. The asylum system, established by Congress during the Cold War, assumes that almost all individuals who pass an initial screening merit legal protection. Consequently, over 80 percent of those who sought asylum at the border between 2014 and 2019 were released into the country, but immigration judges approved asylum for less than one-fifth of these cases. The lengthy asylum process, which can last for years, allows economic migrants to exploit the system by applying for work during their stay, making it attractive for them to risk the dangerous journey to the United States. Before 2011, only about 2 percent of individuals who crossed the border illegally claimed asylum. However, as more people learned that most asylum seekers were granted legal protection, the proportion of undocumented border crossers claiming asylum surged to 16 percent in 2013 and rose to 59 percent in 2023—far surpassing the U.S. government's ability to process applications effectively.",
  "summary": "Voters are tired of the wild swings in policy between permissiveness and cruelty.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}