National Justice for Our Neighbors is overjoyed by President Biden’s executive orders and introduction to the groundbreaking immigration legislation, “The U.S. Citizenship Act,” both announced on day one of his term.
These first steps on immigration policy are a bold and welcome departure from the racism and xenophobia of the Trump era. We congratulate and are indebted to the immigrants, especially immigrant youth, who have been on the frontlines lifting their voices in opposition to the most anti-immigrant president in modern history.
It is a new day for our 11 million undocumented neighbors. Central to the The U.S. Citizenship Act is the creation of a roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who live, work, and belong in the United States.” It calls on Congress to provide permanent status and a path to citizenship for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and farmworkers. The Presidential executive order entitled Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals also directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, to take all appropriate actions under the law to preserve and fortify protections for Dreamers.
The JFON Network has proudly served nearly 5,000 DACA clients since the program was instated in 2012. In addition, we have served hundreds of TPS recipients, farm workers, and factory workers across the country. We know that our clients and their families are Americans in all but paperwork and are long overdue for immediate citizenship.
President Biden has prioritized keeping families together without draconian enforcement tradeoffs. His executive orders have also rescinded the discriminatory Muslim, Refugee, and African Ban, placed a 100 day pause on deportations, and halted construction on the former President’s border wall.
We are counting on President Biden to continue to provide this kind of bold leadership to other immigration policies affecting asylum seekers at the border and ending immigrant detention. We will do our part to keep up the pressure on the President and on Congress to deliver justice to our immigrant communities who have long been denied due process and to create lasting, structural change to the immigration system.
Together, we will make the United States a nation where we the people includes all of us.
