Washington, D.C. – On day one in office, President Biden released a fact sheet of one of the boldest and most progressive immigration bills in our history, a gesture to the unwavering commitment, leadership, and power of Black and brown organizers who fought for and delivered this moment. The details in the fact sheet show that the bill will feature an 8-year pathway to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. and an expedited 3-year pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth, TPS holders, and farmworkers who will be able to immediately apply for green cards, and citizenship three years afterward.
The bill also prioritizes the safety of all immigrants without hurting people by including zero increases to detentions and deportations and no additional funding for border wall construction.
Greisa Martinez Rosas, Executive Director of United We Dream, said:
“As we celebrate the end of four years worth of Trump’s anti-immigrant attacks and President Biden’s inauguration, I am grounded by the power, resistance, and tenacity of the Black-led, multi-racial coalition of organizers who made today possible.
President Biden’s proposed immigration framework was no accident. It was shaped by our unwavering commitment to uphold and fight for the dignity of all undocumented people. The promises laid out in President Biden’s proposal fact sheet, which includes citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., with no increases to the detention and deportation forces of ICE and CBP, are promises born out of our fight to protect our communities. But our fight doesn’t end here. Today is only the beginning.
We will keep the pressure on the Biden-Harris administration to continue delivering on our demands and we look forward to working with the new administration and Congress to ensure this bill becomes a reality. It is essential that President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Schumer know that protecting all immigrants must be established through deliberate and unapologetic policy, not just through word. That’s why we will continue to push the Biden administration to expand and strengthen programs like DACA, and establish a moratorium on deportations. This is not a political game for us. The lives of millions of people are on the line. The visionary future that we need, deserve, and have fought for, is on the line.”
