A group of Democratic congressmen sent a letter to President Joe Biden in which they asked him to prioritize essential undocumented workers in his ambitious infrastructure project, given the Republicans’ refusal to approve the immigration plan proposed by his government.
Several Democratic congressmen, including Elizabeth Warren, Alex Padilla, Joaquin Castro, and Ted Lieu, they argued in the letter that over the past year, essential workers have proven to be a truly important part of our nation’s infrastructure and a crucial part of the backbone of our society.
“These workers have kept America fed, healthy and safe during this pandemic, and they will be equally essential to our nation’s economic recovery,” the congressmen said in the letter.
And they added: “If Republicans continue to refuse to promote immigration legislation endorsed by the overwhelming majority of the American people, the next jobs and infrastructure package must include citizenship for essential workers.”
The Democratic representatives and senators in which they highlighted that there are some five million immigrants who are considered essential workers today.
Last February, this group of Democratic lawmakers proposed in Congress a bill to grant US citizenship to more than 5 million undocumented immigrants considered “essential workers” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The administration of President Joe Biden and the Democrats, who have a majority in both houses of Congress, have already promoted legislation that would open the path to permanent residence and citizenship for some 3.3 million migrants.
Biden too proposed a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants estimated to have been in the United States prior to January 1, 2021.