The Time is Now for the Road to Citizenship

BY LETICIA ROA NIXON ON AUGUST 05, 2021

About 30 people protested outside 30th St. Station for a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people. (Photo courtesy of Leticia Roa Nixon)

On February 18, 2021, President Joe Biden officially sent the proposed U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 to Congress as part of his commitment to modernize the country's immigration system. The legislative proposal, led by Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), aims to create an 8-year pathway to citizenship to keep families together, embrace diversity, and promote the integration of immigrants and refugees.

If passed, three categories of people would immediately receive residency: agricultural workers, those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, known as Dreamers who were brought to the United States as children.

Six months after the bill was introduced, it remains to be seen whether it will be part of the $3.5 trillion budget that Biden presented to Senate Democrats in July 2021. Despite several members of his party asserting that the inclusion of the U.S. Citizenship Act in the budget is essential to their support for the legislation, the President said during a press conference "There has to be a pathway to citizenship. What remains to be seen is whether it can be part of the budget." Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris held talks with immigration reform advocates, where she assured support for a path to citizenship, but stressed that it is going to be difficult to achieve.

And the difficulty is only increasing. On July 16, Judge Andrew Harnen of Texas ordered a halt to the processing of new DACA applications. While this does not affect the 616,030 people already covered under this status, it does eliminate the possibility that new Dreamers will not be deported, and limits their access to work permits.

Biden’s hesitancy prompted organizations and activists that support DACA to intensify their protests nationwide.

IN PHILADELPHIA

In Philadelphia, 390,000 residents are immigrants or children of immigrants. Many of the demonstrators attended the protest accompanied by children. (Photo courtesy of Leticia Roa Nixon)

On July 23, a coalition of immigrant rights organizations held a peaceful demonstration—in front of the train station at 30th and Market Streets, calling on Pennsylvania members of Congress to do the right thing, to fight for immigrant families! 

About 30 people attended the protest and their main demand was the inclusion of the U.S. Citizenship Act in the budget. Members of New Sanctuary Movement, Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC), Make the Road PA, AFRICOM, Immigrant Rights Action, and Woori Center were present, several of them with young children. 

According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, 390,000 Philadelphians are immigrants or children of immigrants, and 18-year-old Kenya Escalante is one of them. During the protest, the Immigrant Rights Action activist told the story of how her immigrant parents became essential workers overnight, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, without the benefits of citizenship. Her father cleans a retirement home and sells fast food at night, while her mother works cleaning a hotel and picking fruit. "Even though my mom has been here 21 years, they see her as an illegal person," Escalante said. "I am a U.S. citizen, but what would happen to me if they deport my parents? This is my country and their country too," she added.

This sentiment is shared by Betania Shepard (Make The Road PA activist), a mother and domestic worker, originally from the Dominican Republic. Shepard came to the U.S. 14 years ago and has lived in Philadelphia since 2015. "Fourteen years ago I emigrated from my country, Dominican Republic, with the hope of building a better life for myself. My children are being raised here. In these 14 years I have called this country my home," Shepard expressed. However, her status as an undocumented migrant has exposed her to discrimination, lack of health insurance and the constant feeling of being at risk. "The 11 million undocumented people deserve to feel safe, we deserve the opportunity to progress, provide for our families and live a happy life," Shepard insisted. 

But the Latinx community is not the only one that has been affected by the lack of a path to citizenship. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, in Philadelphia, the largest groups of migrants come from Asia. Jein Ryu, who is from Korea and a member of the Woori Center, is one of them. And like Shepard, he expressed his fear, the feeling of not belonging here and the pain caused by the broken U.S. immigration system. 

For Ryu, the Biden-Harris administration has made no progress on immigration reform and nothing has changed. This situation has been exacerbated by racist attacks on the Asian community during the pandemic. "As an Asian American I live in constant fear, as well as my family, friends and community members of being deported or targeted for violence Enough is enough!" said the activist.

As part of a nationwide day of action, Woori Center called on State Senator Robert Casey and legislators Brendan Boyle, Madeleine Dean, Mary Gay Scanlon, Chrissy Houlahan and Susan Wild to demand a path to citizenship during the Biden-Harris administration's budget reconciliation. “For the first time in ten years we have a President, a Senate Majority Leader and a Speaker of the House who are Democrats. Congress has a unique opportunity to pass a pathway to citizenship," Ryu concluded.

On July 26, a group of 84 mayors, including Jim Kenney, sent a letter to President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democratic leaders in Congress to include immigration provisions in the budget package. The decision remains pending.

Editor's note: ¡Presente! Media views the word "illegal" as dehumanizing, instead we choose to use "undocumented."