- The United States Chamber of Commerce fights for immigration reform
- A campaign seeks to offer support for immigrants awaiting reform of Joe Biden
- Immigrants ask that immigration reform be considered in the infrastructure plan
Atlanta (GA), Jul 22 (EFE News) .- The United States Chamber of Commerce said Thursday that it is carrying out multiple efforts to promote an immigration reform necessary to fix the current system that, it says, does not meet the country’s needs and local communities. “Currently our immigration system is broken and desperately needs to be fixed,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president and director of Policy of the organization, during a virtual forum on the need to pass immigration reform to boost economic growth.
Bradley highlighted the contribution immigrants make to the country, which he said “are part of the engine of growth that has made the United States the most powerful and prosperous country in the world.” During the forum, called “Putting Communities First: How Immigration Reform Will Boost Economic Growth,” the Director of Immigration Policy, Jon Baselice, answered a question from Efe about the different efforts they carry out to promote immigration reform. .
The Reform to help the undocumented
“The Chamber of Commerce is doing a lot to promote immigration reform. We are talking to everyone on Capitol Hill, and also working with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor and the Department of State, ”he said. President Joe Biden presented an immigration reform bill in January this year, which is stalled in Congress due to the refusal of Republicans to support it and which provides, among other things, an eight-year process for the nearly 11 Millions of undocumented immigrants estimated to live in the country can achieve citizenship.
“There is still a lot to do and we are going to continue working,” said the Chamber of Commerce expert on immigration matters. The panelists who participated in the virtual event, from various sectors of the economy, agreed to point out the importance of immigration reform for companies to reach their maximum potential. EFE News
Campaign to help undocumented immigrants awaiting Biden reform announced
Washington, Jul 13 (EFE News) .- An alliance of organizations announced on Tuesday a campaign to support the undocumented and immigrants who will benefit from the approval of the immigration reform promoted by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, before the Congress. The initiative, called “Ready to stay” in English and called “Here we stay” in Spanish, brings together 16 organizations that will support those who want to regularize their immigration status or access US citizenship.
The executive director of the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHIRLA, in English), Angélica Salas, told Efe that the campaign is tied to immigration reform, to which “millions would qualify” to be benefited if the proposal obtains the approval of Congress. Salas stressed the importance of having “the infrastructure and organizations ready to answer all the questions that people have.”
Legal services for the undocumented
The campaign, which will be broadcast on social networks and has a website, offers information so that interested parties can access immigration benefits and legal services, or avoid being victims of fraud. Users can download the requirements to access Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or the DACA program, aimed at undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children, known as “dreamers.” They can also consult their rights as residents of the United States or find legal help in the places closest to their home.
Information is available, in addition to English, in Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, French, Filipino, Korean, Arabic, Creole, Vietnamese, and Portuguese. Angélica Salas indicated, citing figures from the Center for Migration Studies, that between 2.3 and 2.5 million undocumented people in the United States would qualify for a legalization program. That figure would exceed 10 million if the “dreamers”, TPS beneficiaries and other immigrant groups, such as farm workers, are added, he said. Biden’s immigration reform proposal was formally presented to Congress last February and turned into a bill promoted by the Democratic senator of Cuban origin Bob Menéndez and the legislator Linda Sánchez, of Mexican roots. That bill, titled the United States Citizenship Act of 2021, provides an eight-year process for the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants to achieve citizenship. In addition, it grants immediate legal residency for “dreamers,” TPS recipients, and farm workers. EFE News
Immigrants urge to include immigration reform in infrastructure plan
Los Angeles, Jun 23 (EFE News) .- The group of undocumented immigrants participating in the Fast for Freedom campaign urged Senator Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, on Wednesday to pressure his party to include an immigration reform proposal within of the infrastructure plan promoted by President Joe Biden and which is being evaluated by Congress.
Padilla visited this Wednesday the facilities of the Lutheran Church of the Reform, located two blocks from Congress in Washington DC, where since the beginning of the month a group of immigrants, supported by activists and religious, has been fasting to press for the approval of an immigration reform . The immigrants again exposed to the senator the need to include a legalization of immigrants in this plan that would not need Republican support to be approved in the Senate, which would allow to avoid the anticipated Republican blockade of comprehensive immigration reform promoted by Biden.
Not all immigrants will benefit
The pressure on Padilla comes a day after Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders confirmed that Democrats want to include a path to citizenship in the infrastructure plan, but, he said, they are still determining which immigrants could be favored. , as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
An initial draft establishes $ 150 billion for immigration policy, including the path to citizenship and border security. Diana Laureano, a young Peruvian who came to the United States when she was five years old and today is covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, told Padilla the fear that she and her family live for the possibility of being separated from his younger sister, who is a US citizen.
The feeling of thousands who live the same
“It’s a fear I’ve had since I was little,” insisted the university student, reflecting the feelings of millions of undocumented families about the possibility of being deported. Verónica Lagunas, a janitor who traveled from Los Angeles to participate in the fast, also appealed to the senator, the first Hispanic to represent California in the Upper House.
The Salvadoran immigrant, who is protected by the Temporary Protected Status (TPS), underlined the contribution made by essential workers in this pandemic, and stressed that in her case she has been waiting for a solution for more than 20 years. This Wednesday Padilla como, chairman of the Senate Judicial Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Security, will lead a hearing that will examine the immigration promises made to military immigrants, veterans and their families. EFE News