On Wednesday, top Democratic leaders marked the one year anniversary of the House of Representatives passing permanent protections for over 2 million immigrants, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders, by calling out the one person who’s ultimately responsible for blocking further advancement of the legislation in Congress: Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“One year ago, House Democrats took a momentous step forward for justice by passing H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “Yet, for 365 days, Leader McConnell has refused to take up this legislation, which has the overwhelming support of the American people.” Two immigrants who would be able to apply for legal status under the bill, DACA recipient Luz Chavez Gonzales and TPS holder Elizabeth Valencia, joined leaders for a press call to share how McConnell’s inaction has continued to leave their lives in limbo.
Chavez Gonzales said that she’s dealing with both a looming decision from the Supreme Court on the program’s future, and she’s struggling to support her family amid a pandemic. “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, I’ve become the sole provider of my household,” she said during the press call. “I live with my parents and two siblings, and they’ve all lost their jobs […] if the Supreme Court sides with Trump and I lose my DACA, not only would my family lose their only source of income, but I could be a priority for deportation from Trump’s deportation force.”
”For that reason, the Senate must pass H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act,” Chavez Gonzales continued, further urging legislators to take swift action to rein in out-of-control federal immigration agents who are now also wielding their violence against protesters who are outraged over the police murder of George Floyd. “It’s imperative that Congress work to defund the enforcement agencies of ICE and CBP, whose resources are currently being used to not only terrorize immigrants, but also protest across the country, taking action against the murders of Black people by police,” she said.
During her often-emotional testimony, Valencia described her work in the COVID-19 wing at a nursing home amid the pandemic. The single mother of two said that on some work days she may be at her job for as long as 16 hours; other days she can’t even pause to have a drink of water, out of the risk of then having to use the restroom and contaminating her equipment and endangering her vulnerable residents. Valencia said she does this all this as some people say she should be deported, but the fact is she also shouldn’t have to prove her worth to anyone. She deserves the chance to peacefully live her life here.
”If they take our TPS, that means I have to learn to do something else, and I really love what I do,” she said during the press call, which also included remarks from Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Joaquin Castro, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Robert Menendez, and Rep. Nydia Velázquez. Like Pelosi, the legislators pushed McConnell to act now and protect Chavez Gonzales, Valencia, as many as 2.5 million other immigrants who are facing the loss of their work permits and protection from deportation due to the Trump administration.
Velázquez, coauthor of the Dream and Promise Act, further pushed McConnell in a joint op-ed with bill co-authors Lucille Roybal-Allard and Yvette Clarke, writing: “H.R. 6 honors the will of the American public who strongly favor a path to citizenship for these communities, and would avert the human catastrophe that would result from the deportation of parents, workers, and beloved community members. ... We continue to urge Leader McConnell and our Republican colleagues in the Senate to bring H.R. 6 up for a vote.”
Pelosi also pledged to continue pushing McConnell. “Protecting our Dreamers and TPS and DED recipients is about honoring the respect for family that is at the heart of who we are as Americans,” she continued in her statement. “Inspired by the ongoing energy and activism of our proud Dreamers and their families, we will continue to raise a drumbeat of action to demand the Senate vote on this critical legislation. We will not rest until we have secured every person’s right to achieve their American Dream.”
