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Julio Fuentes| Palm Beach Post

Its been over four months since the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act (ADPA) and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA). Passed with bipartisan support, the FWMA and the ADPAs companion bill, the Dream Act, now await action in the Senate leaving many hard-working undocumented immigrants without certainty and damaging the American economy in the process.

Together, these critical pieces of legislation would provide an earned pathway to citizenship for qualified Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients, DACA-eligible individuals, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and undocumented immigrants in agriculture. At a time where our economy is battling a labor shortage and recovering from a devastating pandemic, we need these workers now more than ever. Here in Florida,over 50%of our undocumented population have been fighting on the frontlines of the pandemic as essential workers andover 50%of Floridas jobs in farming are held by undocumented immigrants.

The passage of a pathway to earned citizenship is an investment in Americas workforce and in our economy. With legal certainty, those who are currently undocumented population can continue to meet the needs of our essential industries and continue their incredible contributions. In fact, should these bills become law, Florida would gain over$800 million in state and local tax revenueand add over$12.2 billion in new economic contributionsto our states economy.

Recently, a U.S. District Court ruled that all new DACA applications will be frozen, barring tens of thousands of young immigrants from getting work authorizations and protection from deportation. This ruling highlights the need for Congress to pass a permanent legislative solution that addresses the uncertainty Dreamers have been forced to live with for years and ensures that immigrants in our country can be productive members of our workforce.

Its time for Florida Sens.Marco Rubio and Rick Scott to put partisanship aside and act in the best interest of Floridians by passing immigration reform now.

Fuentes is founder & CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Original post:
Point of View: Immigration reform will boost Floridas workforce, economy - Palm Beach Post

Law360 (July 26, 2021, 5:13 PM EDT) -- Earlier this month, in a significant victory for immigrant rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck down a key part of a U.S. Department of Justice administrative opinion that allowed the federal government to use criminal convictions pending appeal as the basis for deportation, detention or denying protection.[1]

While the ruling in the case, Brathwaite v. Garland, is an important and consequential decision for immigrants and their advocates, the court's intervention illuminates a much larger problem. Over the last two decades, a disturbing body of administrative opinions has developed at the DOJ.[2]

The opinions, just like the...

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DOJ Immigration Reform Must Overturn Harmful Precedent - Law360

Several advocacy groups warnedcongressional Democrats in a memo Wednesday that if they failed to find a way to createa pathway for citizenshipfor undocumented immigrants, it would result in widespread losses for Democrats.

In a memo obtained by Politico, the groups addressed both chambers Democratic caucuses and campaign committees, saying that citizenship for undocumented immigrants in America can no longer remain an unfulfilled campaign promise for the Democratic Party.

Specifically, the groups directed the congressional Democrats to bring immigration reform as a top priority to President BidenJoe BidenGOP report on COVID-19 origins homes in on lab leak theory READ: The .2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Senators introduce bipartisan infrastructure bill in rare Sunday session MORE and ultimately include provisions to tackle a pathway to citizenship as part of the reconciliation bill.

Socializing and saturating President Biden and Democrats immigration solutions is a first and evergreen step; passing the Senate leaderships budget reconciliation plan that would, once and for all, create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants must be the immediate next step this year, the letter concluded.

The group of organizations includes: Immigration Hub, Peoples Action, Service Employees International Union and Voto Latino.

Axios reported on Wednesday that Biden planned to meet with 11 Democrats at the White House on Thursday to plan next steps in tackling the issue of citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The news comes amid an earlier ruling this month by a federal judge in Texas that blocked new applications to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The ruling has put pressure on Congress to speed up the process in finding a permanent solution for Dreamers. The memo cited the recent ruling and upcoming midterm elections as reason to move quickly, stating there would be political consequences if they failed to act.

Failure to fulfill this basic campaign promise will depress base turnout, particularly among Latinos, leave critical swing votes on the table, and result in widespread losses for Democrats in the upcoming midterms and potentially sacrifice the White House in 2024, the memo warned.

The groups argued that prioritizing citizenship for undocumented immigrants would also reengage Latino voters. The memo stated that the Latino vote in next years midterms and future presidential elections should not be taken for granted. The organizations pointed to few Latino voters turning out for the Democratic Party in areas like South Florida and the Rio Grande Valley over the last few elections.

Democrats have an opportunity to redefine their Party among Latino voters by boldly articulating their position, pushing back against Republicans, and delivering on the unfulfilled promise immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship, the memo said.

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Advocates warn failure to address immigration will result in 'widespread losses for Democrats' | TheHill - The Hill

Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, right, is seen outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington July 21CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn

Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory joined a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol building on 21 July to voice the Catholic Churchs support for comprehensive immigration reform. The conference was sponsored by the American Business Immigration Coalition, that supports immigration reform. The briefing came after a congressional hearing on the plight of migrant farmworkers.

Catholic social teaching upholds the principle that every person has the right to live in his or her own homeland in security and dignity. However, when loss of work forces migration, we must welcome them, protect them and share our abundance with them, the cardinal said. He expressed special concern that current immigration law divides families. We know that strong and united families are the building blocks of our society, Gregory added.

The push for immigration reform comes when several factors raised the issues importance. A federal court declared unconstitutional the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme, initiated by President Barack Obama as a safe harbour from deportation for those brought to the U.S. as children.

The plight of farmworkers, who often work under inhumane conditions, was highlighted during the pandemic as they were deemed essential workers. Earlier this year, however, the U.S. Supreme Court barred those seeking to organise farmworkers from accessing the workers on company-owned land without the owners permission. The ruling effectively frustrates most union organising efforts because the farmworkers are housed on company land as well.

Comprehensive immigration reform is broadly popular with the American people but it failed in both 2007, when Republican President George W Bush tried to enact legislation, and in 2013, when Obama did. President Joe Biden sent a comprehensive immigration proposal to Congress on his first day in office.

Cardinal Gregory urged advocates not to give up hope. Standing in solidarity with our migrant brothers and sisters means once again raising the question, will we care for our neighbour? he said. After years of delay, the 117th Congress now has an opportunity to be courageous by addressing immigration in a comprehensive and productive way.

Read more:
Gregory says immigration reform is still possible - The Tablet

Dozens of the nations mayors are urging Democratic leaders to include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants in any economic recovery legislation Congress considers this year.

That includes Democrats forthcoming $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package a potential legislative vehicle for policy reforms protecting undocumented immigrants who helped the country weather the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates argue.

Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and more than 80 other American mayors signed a letter calling for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers undocumented immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children as well as holders of Temporary Protected Status, essential immigrant workers and their families. The term Dreamers refers to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created during President Barack Obamas tenure, which conveys protection from deportation and permission to legally work in the U.S.

Cognetti joined Oakland, California, Mayor Libby Schaaf and Tucson, Arizona, Mayor Regina Romero on a Monday press call, where they made the case for a pathway to citizenship.

We already needed to deliver pathways to citizenship, as a nation, before the COVID-19 pandemic, but now it is even more clear that we need to do this for our country and for these families and these workers, Cognetti said, arguing two-thirds of undocumented workers served on the front lines of the public health crisis. They put their lives on the line during the pandemic, and to continue to threaten them with deportation after all that theyve done for our country is unconscionable.

The mayors letter to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, all Democrats, notes an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants work in construction, agriculture, food service and production, transportation, health care and other essential industries.

As our state and local communities continue to confront a public health and economic catastrophe that has claimed more than 500,000 lives and exacerbated deep racial and economic inequities, it is vital that Congress enact protections for Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential immigrant workers to secure the health of our nation and to lay the foundation for an equitable economic recovery for all communities across the country, the letter reads.

Cognetti described immigrants as a key part of the economy, especially in the face of declining birth rates and amid the current workforce shortage, arguing a pathway to citizenship is right for both the countrys economic future and the immigrant families themselves.

Providing the pathway the mayors are pushing for would boost the nations gross domestic product by $1.5 trillion over the course of a decade, add 400,000 jobs and increase wages for all American workers, argued Sergio Gonzales, executive director of the Immigration Hub, a national organization, and the moderator of Mondays press call. Those figures come from a recent study by the Center for American Progress and the University of California Davis Global Migration Center.

Schaaf, whose husband is a Scranton native and whose in-laws live in the city, argued its inhumane to force children and families to live in fear that they or a loved one could be deported.

The mayors call for immigration reform comes after a federal judge in Texas ruled earlier this month that the DACA program is unlawful and blocked the Biden administration from accepting new applicants. The judges ruling, which the Biden administration vowed to appeal, underscores the need for Congress to act now and provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and others, Gonzales said.

The reconciliation process could allow Congressional Democrats to pass legislation absent any Republican support and without the threat of a Senate GOP filibuster. But whether a pathway to citizenship is ultimately included in Democrats final budget reconciliation bill remains to be seen.

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Cognetti, other mayors call for path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including essential workers - Scranton Times-Tribune