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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.

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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

Nine years ago, after immense grassroots pressure, the Obama administration created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), granting temporary protections and work authorization for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants. I remember that Friday afternoon like it was yesterday. My family was sitting down eating while watching TV, anxiously awaiting President Obamas announcement. When it finally came, my heart exploded with happiness, I couldnt contain my excitement finally some relief for my older brother, my younger sister and me. But soon after, we learned we didnt qualify. Despite arriving in this country at age 11, we needed to have arrived before June 2007 to qualify my siblings and I had arrived 13 months too late. My dreams were shattered. Nearly a decade later, immigrants like me, along with the DACA recipients who did qualify for the program, are still waiting on a path to citizenship.

My siblings and I consider Staten Island, New York, our home. We learned English here, have gone to school here, met our dearest friends here, and work to support our family here. At first, learning English was hard, but we knew it was critical for our future. Our homework was very challenging, but in the evenings we would go over to a neighbors house and she would help us translate and understand our assignments. Each night, we would grab a dictionary and practice looking up words and their meanings. We were determined to get good grades and do well in school.

This year, both my younger sister and I graduated from the College of Staten Island, a milestone for our family. But, while I have my diploma and want to pursue my career in accounting, I cannot because of my immigration status. This is the reality hundreds of thousands of youth currently face, after being left out of DACA, and the millions of undocumented people who have long waited for immigration relief that will put them on a pathway to citizenship.

During the pandemic, our immigrant communities were among the most vulnerable suffering the loss of loved ones while continuing to labor at the frontlines as essential workers. Throughout the pandemic, my mother cleaned houses and I did construction work. We were two of the estimated 5n million essential workers who put our lives on the line to support our communities and sustain our economy.

Now, we are at a critical moment. A Texas federal judge has halted the DACA program, placing a stop on new applications. This leaves the DACA programs future in grave jeopardy and puts hundreds of thousands of young peoples lives at risk.

The Biden administration and Congress must meet the moment and step up. They can do so by ensuring not temporary solutions, but a path to citizenship or DACA recipients, DACA-eligible youth, essential workers, farm workers and more. This month, Senate Democrats announced a federal budget proposal that includes a path to citizenship for immigrants. The President and majorities in both houses should support the package and pass it. And if Republicans try to obstruct, as theyve made clear they will, Democrats who control both chambers should use every means possible to pass the legislation.

For decades, immigrants have relentlessly fought for humane immigration reform that will provide undocumented people a pathway to citizenship. DACA recipients cannot continue living through court decision after court decision, and youth like me deserve permanent protections, too.

We cannot wait any longer, inaction by Congress is not acceptable. All of our eyes are on President Biden, Senator Schumer, and the rest of Congress to deliver a pathway to citizenship that will help boost our countrys economy and bring permanent protections to the millions of undocumented immigrants who consider this country our home.

(Pedro Farfan, of Rosebank, is a youth member of Make the Road New York, the largest grassroots community organization in New York offering services and organizing the immigrant community.)

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With DACA halted, Congress must act for immigrants (opinion) - silive.com

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Gov. Jay Inslee delivered remarks today in Seattle congratulating 60 new U.S. citizens following the 36th Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony, recognizing that they are welcome in Washington and challenging them to be active participants in our democracy. The governor celebrated the occasion with a number of other elected officials, including Sen. Maria Cantwell, Secretary of State Kim Wyman, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, as well as Chief Judge Ricardo Martinez and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services District Director Anne Corsano.

The United States has been and will always be the greatest hope in the world as long as we continue to embrace this infusion of hope and spirit and vision and energy that these new citizens now represent, Inslee said.

Separately, the governor delivered aletterto Congressional leadership today calling for comprehensive immigration reform. He urged Congress to use any legislative means necessary, including budget reconciliation. In his letter, Gov. Inslee underscored the troubled history for many immigrants in the United States, who are categorically excluded from nearly all social programs, and unable to safely assert their civil rights all while providing indispensable benefits to our nation. He further stressed that even though Congress and past presidents have undertaken efforts to shape our nations immigration policies, a far broader effort is needed.

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Inslee speaks at naturalization ceremony, calls on Congress to pass immigration reform | Governor Jay Inslee - Governor Jay Inslee

No matter how much some nativists might wish it were so, the United States does not have the authority to force other countries to take back their citizens. Also, for illustrative purposes, let us say it would cost an average of $1,000 per person (transportation to the departure site, housing and food until departure, and the return flight). This basic estimate suggests that the cost could approximately be $10,500,000,000 to remove all undocumented immigrants. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimate of the average cost per deportation was $10,854 including all costs necessary to identify, apprehend, detain, process through immigration court, and remove an alien. This estimate accounts for the costs of law enforcement efforts of apprehension and physical removal from the country, and the efforts of the legal system and courts required to remove someone out of the country. Removing all undocumented immigrants would reduce the nations GDP by nearly 6% and substantially decrease the workforce by the number of people removed.

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Yoku Shaw-Taylor: The undocumented and the need for comprehensive immigration reform | COMMENTARY - Capital Gazette