Activists demand from Congress a path to citizenship for the undocumented.
Photo: JESÚS GARCÍA / Impremedia
Members of various organizations in defense of immigrants warned that the so-called ‘parole’ or deportation protection for the undocumented would be a temporary help for these non-citizensIn addition to that travel permits and social benefits, as well as driver’s licenses would not be easy to obtain.
Lawyers joined the call to Congress to approve the Registry Law, which would give a path to citizenship for the undocumented, since it would allow to apply for the ‘green card’ and several additional benefits would be easier to obtain, including driver’s licenses and social benefits, such as support for universities.
Kendal Nystedt, an immigration attorney for Make The Road New York, told a virtual press conference that if Congress passes the parole under the Build Back Better (BBB – Rebuild Better) agenda, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS ) would have to develop the relevant rules, which could make it difficult for immigrants to obtain some of the benefits.
“Those rules would be implemented by the Department of Homeland Security,” he acknowledged. “History tells us that DHS usually implements different guidelines for travel, (the undocumented) can have their own processing time and additional costs would be applied.”
The conference was convened by activists from the Immigrant Human Rights Coalition (CHIRLA), Undocublack Network, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and the National Korean American Education and Service Consortium (NAKASEC) have called for change that permission for a legalization that includes a path to citizenship.
Advocates advocated Monday because legislation is included that allows millions of undocumented immigrants to obtain permanent residence on the House of Representatives social spending plan, which will be voted on in the coming weeks.
In a new call, the activists insisted that an immigration reform project that gives a path to citizenship be incorporated into the Build Back Better Act social spending plan, which had initially included this proposal.
However, the Democrats presented a new version in early November in which immigrants must comply only with a permit to stay in the country for 5 years, renewable until 2031.
Angélica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA, said Monday at a press conference that “truly transformative immigration relief is permanent.”
“We are more than our job and we want more than work permits. We are not here to be part of a lower class with temporary and unstable protections. We have invested and contributed to this society for years, and now it must include us, ”the activist insisted.
For her part, Yaritza Méndez, co-director of Make the Road New York, appreciated that temporary work permits do not meet the needs of all immigrants.
The call for Democratic leadership comes amid challenges facing President Joe Biden’s party to approve alone the $ 1.75 trillion social spending plan, which contains social benefits for workers and environmental policies, among other.
Unlike the Infrastructure Plan (PAVE), approved by a bipartisan coalition, the Build Back Better Act faces various criticisms, even within the Democratic Party itself, such as Senator Joe Manchin.
They want Registry Law
The other challenge is to ensure that the Chamber’s project can be compatible with the approved by the Senate through Reconciliation, which allows you a simple majority to pass.
This would explain the change of the Democrats in the Lower House, who had initially chosen to include the update of the “Registration Law” that would allow access to permanent residence to immigrants who could prove that they had arrived in the United States before 2010.
But the update of this Registry Law had already been ruled out in the Senate when the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who in her functions as a nonpartisan figure in charge of interpreting the rules of the legislative process in the Upper House, rejected this proposal.
The demands of pro-immigrant groups to Democrats had focused on asking the Senate to ignore MacDonough’s decision, but after the House’s decision to withdraw the Registration Law proposal, the picture is more complicated.
However, activists have not given up on the battle.
“We urge Democrats to use whatever means necessary to ensure that millions of people can pursue their dreams and participate as fully engaged citizens,” said Glo Choi, community organizer for the HANA Center, an affiliate of NAKASEC.
The House of Representatives has not set a specific date for the vote on the Build Back Better Act. The Congressional Budget Office said it expects to release a cost estimate for the plan by next Friday, which would leave the vote until next week at the earliest. Thanksgiving.
Democratic legislators also have among their challenges to approve the financing of the Government, which has funds until December 3, and the United States debt limit, among others.
With information from EFE
eldiariony.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.