For nearly six months, immigrant rights advocates have worked overtime organizing, protesting, and proposing improved language for the Build Back Better Act petitioning for a pathway to citizenship via green cards for millions of undocumented people. We know the House may vote on the bill as soon as tonight.
We are now at a crossroads of potentially approving a bill that could fall short of what our communities need. If Build Back Better passes without permanent protections for immigrants, it will leave our communities in perpetual uncertainty.
““This is a real opportunity for Democrats to differentiate themselves from the xenophobic and racist agenda of the previous administration. Every Democratic member of Congress should understand by now that immigrant communities in their districts are calling for full inclusion — we do not want to remain on parole in our own country. We want permanent residence, and the opportunity to participate as citizens, to vote, to travel, and to choose our own destiny.”
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Right now, the House bill includes parole. Parole means work permits and protection from deportation until 2031 and no more than that. Parole is temporary and there is no guarantee that a future Congress will extend the parole term. We at UndocuBlack are clear: PAROLE IS NOT PERMANENT PROTECTION. Parole is NOT A PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP. We need green cards and a pathway to citizenship to allow our immigrant communities the opportunity to put down roots and live our fullest lives in this country.
The UndocuBlack Network urges Speaker Pelosi and Congress to reinsert the 2010 green card registry and remove parole before voting the bill out of the House. Citizenship through the reconciliation process is what the Democratic leadership promised. Putting anything less than green cards in the bill means dooming our communities (the same communities who kept this country afloat during the pandemic) to more temporary half-lives.
““As a DACA recipient, I know all too well what it means to have another round of temporary status offered instead of permanent status. DACA was introduced as the stepping stone to green cards. We were told in 2011 that Congress must act to secure permanent provisions. It is now 2021, 10 years later, and Congress has yet to keep its promise. We need a competent immigration policy now. Registry is the best and only option.””
Registry is the only viable option for Congress to deliver a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants this year. It’s time for bold action—TODAY. Congress must meet this defining moment and reinsert registry in the Build Back Better Act before voting it into the Senate.
