New Legislation Offers a Common-Sense Way Forward to Reform Immigration
Washington, DC – Today, America’s Voice endorsed U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-NV) Fairness for Immigrant Families Act that was re-introduced on Monday, which would give long-term undocumented immigrants with family ties and no criminal records a path to legal status, protect families from indiscriminate enforcement, and force ICE to answer to Congress instead of operating unchecked.
The bill would reestablish the 245(i) program, expand cancellation of removal, and rein in the deportation of parents of U.S. citizen children by requiring high-level sign-off and at least quarterly reporting to Congress. It would also bar the removal of DACA recipients and certain immigrants with pending humanitarian applications altogether.
The stakes are anything but abstract: 26 million people in the United States live in a household with at least one undocumented family member, including nearly 4.6 million U.S. citizen children. And, as we know, immigrants also play a critical role in the U.S. economy. Undocumented immigrants paid more than $37 billion in state and local taxes in 2022 alone.
Senator Cortez Masto Welcomes Support of America’s Voice:
“My Fairness for Immigrant Families Act will help immigrants who have lived in and contributed to this country for decades step out of the shadows. I’m thankful this legislation has been endorsed by America’s Voice, and I look forward to working on advancing it together.”
Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, issued the following statement:
“It is time to stop the madness, chaos, and violence of mass deportation and find a common-sense solution that works for America. While ICE agents shoot fathers on their way to work and this administration guts its own oversight, Senator Cortez Masto is advancing common-sense solutions that aim to help build an immigration system that actually works. This bill takes important steps toward keeping families together instead of tearing them apart and holds ICE accountable to Congress instead of letting it police itself. The cruelty of this deportation machine is a choice. Congress can choose differently, and the Fairness for Immigrant Families Act shows exactly how.”
Senator Cortez Masto will join The Center for American Progress and America’s Voice on Wednesday, July 29 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. ET for “The Cruelty Must End: Better Immigration Policies for a Stronger America,” featuring a panel of experts moderated by America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas. RSVP here to join in person or online.
