ICYMI: NDC Launches Immigration Task Force, Announces Endorsement of Two Key Immigration Reform Bills
In case you missed it: The New Democrat Coalition (NDC) launched its Immigration Task Force co-chaired by Reps. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Greg Stanton (AZ-09). In its first action of the 117th Congress, the NDC Immigration Task Force Co-Chairs along with NDC Leadership Representative Kathy Manning (NC-06) announced the Coalition’s endorsement of two key immigration reform bills: H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, and H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
The NDC Immigration Task Force leaders held a press conference with Reyna Montoya, Founder, CEO, and Board Member of Aliento, and Maria Praeli, Government Relations Manager at FWD.us, who shared their stories and experiences as DACA recipients and urged Congress to take action to provide Dreamers with a pathway to permanent citizenship.
Read excerpts of on the NDC Immigration Task Force’s rollout below or the full articles in Santa Maria Sun, Santa Barbara News-Press, and Santa Barbara Independent. Watch the NDC’s press conference here.
The New Democrat Coalition made up of more than 100 Democratic legislators who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies, virtually launched the New Dem Immigration Task Force on March 11.
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The New Dem Immigration Task Force is just one part of the coalition’s commitment to immigration reform, the second is endorsing HR (House Resolution) 6—the American Dream and Promise Act—and HR 1537—the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
Both bills aim to promote fairness for Dreamers, temporary protected status, and deferred enforced departure holders and create stability and economic opportunity for immigrant workers and the United States’ agricultural sector.
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The New Democrat Coalition Task Force, which is co-chaired by U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, held a Zoom press conference Thursday to endorse two new immigration reform bills reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Dream and Promise Act of 2021 would: grant Dreamers conditional permanent resident status for 10 years if they meet certain requirements such as being 18 years old or younger when they entered; grant individuals who have had temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure for three years or more lawful permanent resident status; and set forth provisions that protect Dreamers and individuals with temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure during their application for relief.
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The act also allows Dreamers to access federal financial aid and permits Dreamers deported from the U.S. by the Trump administration to apply for relief from abroad.
“As someone who immigrated to this country as a young boy, this is very personal to me,” Rep. Carbajal said. “Dreamers deserve to stay and deserve the same shot at achieving the American Dream that I had.”
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The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 would: provide a path to immigration status for agricultural workers and their families; revise the H-2A agricultural guestworker program to address employer and worker concerns; and impose mandatory employment verification, E-Verify, in agriculture.
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“I have heard from countless growers about the devastating labor shortage that stems from our broken immigration system,” Rep. Carbajal said. “My father was a farmworker, and I spent many summers working with him in the fields, so I have a firsthand account of how important farmwork is to our nation.”
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Democrat Salud Carbajal, Santa Barbara’s representative in Congress, endorsed two pieces of immigration reform legislation Thursday. Carbajal endorsed the bills as co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition Task Force, a group of 94 Democrats who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies.
Carbajal’s coalition endorsed the Dream and Promise Act, which will provide a path to citizenship for DACA recipients, and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which will reform the immigration system by providing for earned legal status for existing farmworkers, modernizing the H-2A agricultural guest worker program, and creating a “first-of-its-kind, merit-based visa program specifically designed for the nation’s agricultural sector.”
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At the New Democrat Coalition press conference, Carbajal was joined by other members and immigrants who spoke to the importance of the bills. Reyna Montoya was an immigrant who fled violence in Tijuana as a child with her family. They moved to Arizona, and Montoya received her DACA status in May 2012, which allowed her to pass rigorous background checks and get legal permission to live, work, and contribute in the US.
However, there is still a need for legislation like the Dream and Promise Act.
To watch the full press conference, click here.
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