Congressmen ask the president to integrate the Citizenship for Essential Workers project into his family plan
Photo: PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP / Getty Images
President Joe Biden is pressured by a group of Democratic congressmen to include in his plan for American families the bill, which would grant citizenship to five million undocumented immigrants, who operated in essential jobs during the pandemic of COVID – 19 .
The project HR 2020 (in the House of Representatives) or S. 747 (in the Senate) is the Citizenship Law for Essential Workers , which provides for “dreamers” and other non-citizens .
“Last year, workers esen cials have proven to be a truly important part of our nation’s critical infrastructure and a crucial part of the backbone of our society, ”says the letter .
The letter, first reported by CNN, is signed by the representatives Joaquin Castro (Texas) and Ted Lieu (California) and Senators Alex Padilla (California) and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), but is endorsed by others 18 Congressmen.
Democrats note that the Department of Security National (DHS) designated essential workers as part of the critical infrastructure of the country during the pandemic.
“These workers have kept States United fed, healthy and safe during this pandemic ”, they say. “And they will be equally essential for the economic recovery of our nation.”
The five million people who would benefit from immigration protection are employed in the agricultural industry, but also They are meat packers, nurses, janitors, construction workers, supermarket employees, truck drivers, restaurant cooks, service workers, home health aides, emergency responders, among others.
Congressmen also warn of the conditions in which these people live, putting their families at risk.
“Often (these people) live in overcrowded conditions with their families, work in industries with unsafe conditions, and earn poverty-level wages” , the congressmen lament. They add that the pandemic only made their situation worse.
The letter acknowledges the complication of Republicans rejecting the plan, but Democrats are confident that the Reconciliation rule can be used. , which requires a simple vote in the Senate.
The proposal is supported by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (California), as well as all members of the Hispanic Caucus and others 100 Democrats.
There are other immigration bills in Congress, including the reform proposed by President Biden that would grant citizenship to undocumented persons who prove their stay in the country before 19 November 2021, as well as ‘dreamers’ and people under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.
There is also a project to benefit “dreamers” and people with TPS and another for agricultural workers – who advanced in the House -, as well as a Republican bill.
