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For Immediate Release

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UWD Staff

John Cornyn: It’s Time to Live Up to Your Word and Prioritize a Pathway to Citizenship Now!

Contact: José Alonso Muñoz | jose@unitedwedream.org | 202.810.0746

Houston, Texas – This morning, immigrant youth and allies from United We Dream and others gathered outside Senator Cornyn’s Houston office with a Mariachi band to make some noise and demand he take immediate action to deliver a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth, TPS holders and farm workers. After, the group of immigrant youth and allies which included Black Lives Matter Houston, Texas Organizing Project, Indivisible Houston, Our Revolution, Swing TX Left, The Cornyn Weekly Office Protest, Houston Rebel Alliance, Jolt TX, Home Coalition, Immigrant Families and Students in the Struggle, took a car rally from Sen. Cornyn’s office to rally outside of  Sen. Cruz’s Houston home. 

The Facebook Live from the event can be found here and here. Photos and videos of the event can be found here. All credit to United We Dream. 

Norma Gonzalez, Texas Lead Organizer of United We Dream, said:

“Immigrant youth took action today to hold Senator Cornyn accountable to his word and to urge him to vote ‘YES’ on a pathway to citizenship for our communities by April 30. In his 2020 re-election campaign, Sen. Cornyn vocalized his support for the Dream Act but has since taken issue with the humane treatment of undocumented people and made a spectacle of immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border.

With millions of undocumented immigrants facing the ongoing threat of deportation and remaining excluded from federal pandemic relief because of their immigration status, delaying the Dream, Secure and Farm Workforce Modernization bills from passing the Senate deliberately puts millions of lives on the line. It’s time for Sen. Cornyn to live up to his words and do what is morally right and popular among the majority of Americans. The moment we are in is urgent, and if Republican Senators like Cornyn don’t support these bills in good faith, we are urging Senate Democrats to move forward on their own. There is no time for excuses.”

Susie Lujano, Member of United We Dream, said:

“I have always called Texas home. It is the place where I grew up, met my fiancé, and one day, hope to raise my kids. Yet, my home is also the place where some of my elected officials are actively trying to end DACA, which would leave me and nearly 650,000 immigrant young people vulnerable to deportation. As a DACA recipient, my life and my future has been filled with uncertainty. Living from court case to court case, I have felt an overwhelming sense of fear that any day DACA could end and I’d be separated from my family and my home. 

Today, I took action alongside other immigrant youth to remind Senator Cornyn that we haven’t forgotten the platform he ran on during his 2020 re-election campaign when he promised to support the Dream Act.  With three bills that would deliver a pathway to citizenship for millions in our communities now sitting in the Senate, we’re urging Sen. Cornyn to follow through on his word so that DACA recipients like myself, TPS holders, and many others who don’t qualify for these temporary solutions can once and for all stop living in a constant state of uncertainty. Now is the time for Sen. Cornyn to act!”

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United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation; made up of a multi-racial and multi-ethnic network of 1.2 million members, over 100 local groups, and a reach of over 5 million per month. UWD’s vision is to push for just policies that allow everyone to thrive regardless of immigration status. United We Dream is fighting for a multi-racial democracy that works for everyone by building a movement of young people who organize and advocate for the dignity and justice of immigrants and communities of color. You can find more at www.unitedwedream.org.

Topic(s):Texas

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