Mayra Todd can’t help but get a lump in her throat talking about President Biden’s failure to deliver immigration reform to the 11 millions of undocumented immigrants who lead a life in this country.
“They made fun of us very ugly. They gave us a ‘cute and pretty’ slap. It is a basement what he has done to us, ”says Todd, an immigrant from Guatemala, who carries 34 years in this country living in the shadows. Three of his four children were born here.
The 2021 began with great enthusiasm for immigrants , because President Biden promised them an immigration reform campaign, and although on his first day in office, he announced his legalization plan with a path to citizenship for essential workers, dreamers and beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) program, the year is ending with nothing concrete.
When things began to get complicated, they came out with a shorn version, a kind of temporary relief for immigrants, which consisted of including a measure in the social spending bill (Build Back Better), so that the undocumented who arrived before 2011, obtained a work permit up to 10 years.
But fell short in scope, since according to an analysis by the Budget Office a Congress (CBO), around 6.5 million people would have benefited, not the 11 millions that Biden had promised.
The reduced version was approved by the House of Representatives last month, but he got stuck in the Senate. The Senate MP, an unelected employee hired to advise, issued an opinion against three proposals, Plan A, Plan B and Plan C that included reduced immigration reform in the bill Build Back Better , approved by the House of Representatives.
Plan A sought a path to citizenship for 8 million immigrants. Weeks later, plan B to grant residency through the registration provision was presented, but rejected it, and plan C, the third proposal, was the one approved by the House of Representatives.
In a joint statement, Congressmen Lou Correa from California, Adriano Espaillat from New York and Jesús “Chuy” García from Illinois said that at this point, a path to citizenship can and should be reinstated in the Build Better Back Act, even if that means putting the parliamentarian aside and taking her to vote at the full Senate. ”
They pointed out that for the past 35 years, have promised results to the communities. “We cannot leave an unelected bureaucrat to decide the future of the most vulnerable and hard-working neighbors.”
However, Todd said that when Biden promised them immigration reform in 98 days, he never imagined that a Senate employee, the I was going to stop.
“I have waited for 34 years for immigration reform. I do not want to die without being able to be a resident and citizen of this country. No leader imagines what it feels like to be undocumented and the suffering that one carries inside ”.
And he attributes the failure to get immigration reform to the Democrats. “There was never a will on the part of the great majority.”
She admitted that she started crying like crazy when she found out about the news. “They have seen our faces because they want to keep us as unchained slaves. Our workforce and the money from taxes and social security benefit this country, but it is better for them to keep us undocumented than to give us a status. ”
To further complicate matters, the Democratic Senator Joe Manchin killed Biden’s $ 2.2 trillion spending plan by refusing to vote for it, arguing that it increases inflation reflected in the increase in gasoline and food
Juan José Gutiérrez, director of the Immigrant Rights Coalition, still hopes that immigration reform can be achieved in 2022.
“I can’t imagine how Manchin, senator from West Virginia has been able to stop Biden’s project.”
The pro-immigrant leader said that Biden’s mistake was an excess of confidence in getting the Democratic dissident votes. But this does not end here. The fight continues in January. ”
Martha Ugarte, also a pro-immigrant leader, said that the 2021 has been the year that they have been closest to the approval of an immigration reform.
“We have to see it as an experience that leaves us learning, but we definitely have to do something next year because Democrats are not valuing the Latino vote. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. ”
He pointed out that Democrats should know that if they continue not to give priority to immigration reform,“ Latinos are not going to vote for them. ”
Meanwhile, he indicated, that hope dies last and the fight continues for immigration reform.