Congresswoman Cori Bush’s Statement on House Passage of Immigration Bills Providing a Pathway to Citizenship to Millions
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01), released the following statement after the House passage of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 and H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021. These two bills will provide a pathway to citizenship for our immigrant neighbors, including DREAMers and farm workers.
“Too many of our immigrant communities have been forced to live in fear, uncertain about their futures,” said Congresswoman Cori Bush. “Decades of racist, dehumanizing immigration policies have created systems that have criminalized and traumatized our immigrant neighbors, friends, and families in St. Louis and across our country. Our broken immigration system has left too many people uncertain of whether they could be torn away from their homes, forced to leave their families, their communities, and their dreams behind. Their pathway to citizenship is so long overdue. I also want our immigrant communities to know that our fight is not over. We are committed to ensuring that immigration is not further criminalized and that all immigrants are treated with dignity and provided with a path to citizenship.”
“I’m proud to stand in solidarity with our DREAMers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients as we pass the American Dream and Promise Act to ensure they can pursue a path to citizenship, live safely, and thrive. I also proudly stand with our agricultural workers in passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which will make 1 million agricultural workers eligible to adjust their status, providing them and their families with long-overdue protection and stability. These bills bring us closer to the goal of providing a pathway to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants living in our country.”
Background:
H.R. 6 - The American Dream and Promise Act: Establishes a path to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status for Dreamers and for certain individuals who either held or were eligible for TPS or DED. The majority of these individuals have been in the United States for much of their lives, often with work authorization and temporary protections against deportation. Five years after attaining full LPR status, individuals are then eligible to apply for citizenship, a path that is supported by nearly 75 percent of the American public. H.R. 6 promotes justice and fairness for our nation’s Dreamers, and for the TPS and DED holders who fled ongoing armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions to come to this country and who have been contributing to our economy and our communities for years and are employed at high rates in industries that often struggle to find sufficient U.S. workers.
H.R. 1603 - The Farm Workforce Modernization Act: Stabilizes the agricultural sector and preserves our rural heritage by ensuring that farmers can meet their labor needs by establishing a program for agricultural workers, their spouses and minor children can earn legal Certified Agricultural Worker (CAW) status through continued agricultural employment. H.R. 1603 also reforms the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program to provide more flexibility for employers, while ensuring critical protections for workers. And to ensure a legal workforce for the agriculture sector, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act establishes a mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system to ensure compliance with the reformed H-2A visa program while also protecting workers’ due process rights.
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Congresswoman Cori Bush represents Missouri’s First Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She is also a Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a proud member of the Congressional Black Caucus. She is a registered nurse, single mother, and an ordained pastor. Following the murder of Michael Brown Jr. by a now-terminated Ferguson police officer, she became a civil rights activist and community organizer fighting for justice for Black lives on the streets of Missouri and across the country.