Democrats will be judged on their ability to take action and deliver on citizenship for millions
With Congress ready to gear up for a busy post-Labor Day stretch, leading voices are expressing optimism and making clear why this is the year for a legislative breakthrough to deliver green cards and eventual citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, farm workers and other essential workers.
- In a Washington Post profile of what legal immigration status will mean for his Brooklyn neighborhood, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said: “This is the best chance we have. We’re fighting every day to make it happen.”
- In a full page New York Times ad running today, United We Dream and eight other progressive and racial justice organizations, including Black Voters Matter, The Frontline, Indivisible, Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), Make The Road New York, MoveOn, the Sunrise Movement, and the Working Families Party, tell Democrats “This year we can win citizenship for millions” and that “Democrats hold all the power to deliver.”
- In a Newsweek op-ed, Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC): “This Labor Day, as we await Congress’ next steps to advance a historic budget resolution that includes a long overdue pathway to citizenship, we must recognize and honor the millions of immigrant essential workers that have helped us survive the pandemic. Immigrants have been on the front lines of the pandemic since day one: from harvesting our food to taking care of our loved ones who are sick and helping us heal … In spite of this, these same workers continue to show up day after day and help our recovery as we move forward. It is crucial that we support them.”
- Eduardo J. Padrón, president emeritus of Miami Dade College and a board member of the IMPAC Fund, the Florida chapter of the American Business Immigration Coalition, wrote in The Hill: “Immigrants and the employers that rely on them deserve immigration reform that would bring stability to their lives and businesses after years of legal purgatory. For our leaders in Washington, D.C., continuing to do nothing is unacceptable. The time for Congress to act is now.”
- Tampa Bay Times op-ed, “Five Florida university presidents support a pathway to citizenship for Florida’s Dreamers”: David A. Armstrong is president of St. Thomas University, Grant H. Cornwell is president of Rollins College, George L. Hanbury II is president and CEO of Nova Southeastern University, Mike Allen is president of Barry University, and Jeffrey D. Senese is president of Saint Leo University, all in Florida. They write: “With more than 12,000 DACA-eligible students in Florida, every day on our campuses we see firsthand the hopes, aspirations and hard work of many of Florida’s nearly 70,000 Dreamers. Granting them a pathway to citizenship is no act of charity; it’s enlightened self-interest.”
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
This is the year.
We are confident that Congress will pass legislation this year that puts millions on pathways to green cards and eventually citizenship. The White House and all the Democrats in Congress strongly support it and, across the country, the public and leading local voices are strongly in support. The country is ready. Our economy will benefit. Democrats are primed.
Democrats have choices to make and promises to keep on a range of issues, including on citizenship for millions of immigrants. In upcoming elections, Democrats will be judged on their ability to take action for the American people.
Now is the time to deliver.
