Washington, D.C. – Today, immigrant rights leader and United We Dream (UWD) executive-director, Greisa Martinez Rosas, published a moving opinion piece in the New York Times on the critical need to pass permanent protections for undocumented people. — and how Congress has once again failed to deliver a solution. Aspervasive and cruel attacks continue on the DACA program, allies and undocumented immigrants nationwide called on the Democrats in power to prioritize negotiations of a bipartisan immigration push before Republicans took control of the House in January.
You can read Greisa’s full opinion piece here.
From Greisa Martinez Rosas, UWD Executive-Director:
- “Our loss of work permits and deportation protections would have far-reaching implications for our country. As DACA recipients, we have to renew our status every two years. If the program were to end, we would most likely fall out of status on a rolling basis, which means an estimated 1,000 jobs would be lost each day for two years. If we lose our right to live and work legally, we lose our ability to pay our mortgages, access to our employer sponsored health care and the ability to pay our employees. But it’s more than that. Undocumented people are a vital part of the fabric of our local and national economy. According to the New American Economy Research Fund, DACA-eligible immigrants collectively earn more than $20 billion per year, most of which is either paid out in federal taxes or spent in the economy. DACA recipients represent 200,000 essential workers, including nearly 30,000 health care workers, like doctors and nurses, who have helped communities across the country survive this pandemic.”
- “Providing citizenship for immigrant youth has broad support from voters. And Democrats in Congress owe their legislative power to Black and brown organizers on the ground in states like Georgia, Pennsylvania and Nevada who have been organizing for years, leading to significant grass-roots support. And in Arizona, where they have been fighting back against racist anti-immigrant policies for over a decade. Those organizers knocked on doors in 2018, 2020 and 2022 to help Democrats in Arizona win and retain two Senate seats and delivered the state’s Electoral College votes to a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in over 20 years. We need President Biden, Democrats, Republicans and Independents to come together and meet this moment with the urgency it requires. They must act. Our lives depend on it.”
