By Maria Ortiz
Jun 18, 2024, 18:49 PM EDT
Latino legislators celebrated on Tuesday the new immigration measures announced by President Joe Biden that will allow thousands of undocumented immigrants who have been residing in the United States to obtain legal immigration status and a residence permit (Green Card).
Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Nanette Barragán (CA-44) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar made known their support and the groups of Latino legislators they represent in Congress to the new measures that open the way for the legalization of immigration status to more than half a million immigrants who have been living in the United States for years, as well as a legal immigration path that will help Dreamers who meet certain requirements.
The president of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Nanette Barragán, issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s executive orders.
“Today is a happy day for many immigrant families in the United States. There will be tears of joy along with sighs of relief as we understand the importance of these executive actions by President Biden for these families. The CHC applauds President Biden and his Administration for their actions to keep families together with protections for non-citizen spouses and their non-citizen children of U.S. citizens who have been in this country for at least ten years. “These are the most significant protections for immigrant families since the DACA program was first announced in 2012 by the Obama-Biden administration,” Barragán said.
“It is estimated that 550,000 spouses and children could be affected by this executive action. These families can sleep peacefully tonight knowing that their loved ones are not going anywhere and that they will be on their way to becoming legal permanent residents,” Barragán continued.
Barragán explained that the CHC, along with stakeholders, advocacy groups and millions of immigrants have advocated to keep families together and make it easier for them to contribute to our economy and communities and that in May, a small group of CHC leadership members met with President Biden to ask him to use his “parole in place” authority to provide these immigration protections to thousands of people who have been living in the United States for years without a path that allows them to legalize their immigration status.
And he highlighted that: “The CHC also advocated for protections for Dreamers, so the CHC is happy to see that President Biden also announced new actions that will allow DACA recipients and Dreamers who have earned a college degree in the United States United States and have been offered skilled jobs, obtaining work visas more easily.”
“While there is no substitute for congressional action and the DACA program hangs in the balance, today’s actions provide much-needed relief to American families across the country,” Barragán assured.
The chairman of the Democratic caucus of the House of Representatives, Pete Aguilar, issued the following statement regarding President Biden’s immigration executive orders released Tuesday.
“Today’s executive orders are an important step forward in a balanced approach to reform our broken immigration system and secure our border. “After taking decisive action to control our southern border, the President now extends the promise of the American Dream to families across our country as we celebrate 12 years since the Obama-Biden Administration created the DACA program.”
Aguilar said he and the lawmakers he represents also applaud Biden’s decision to prioritize protecting college graduates, including Dreamers and undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens.
“Now, hundreds of thousands of our friends, family and neighbors are one step closer to beginning the path to citizenship in the country they have long called home,” Aguilar said.
Keep reading:
• Biden’s order would allow more than a million undocumented immigrants to apply for a Green Card
• Thousands of undocumented immigrants will be able to obtain a Green Card with Biden’s new order
• Biden celebrated his new immigration plan and assured that it is a “common sense” measure