Joe Biden met with “dreamers” at the White House to show his commitment to immigration reform

While his administration has yet to present the final immigration reform bill to Congress, Joe Biden wants to show that the issue is a priority. That is why today Friday he met in the oval room with six dreamers (as the young immigrants who entered the United States without documents as minors are called. By executive order their deportations are stopped and they have been given work permits , but they still live in the country without legal status).

“President Biden has reiterated his support for Dreamers, TPS holders, farm workers, and other immigrants who are essential workers. The president and the dreamers also discussed the need for immigration reform, ”says the official statement sent by the White House at the end of the meeting.

Addressing the plenary session of Congress last month, President Biden called on lawmakers to “end the grueling war on immigration,” lobbying for support for his immigration reform plan that would provide a path for citizenship to less 11 million undocumented in the country. He also asked in particular that they act on behalf of the Dreamers, to put an end to the uncertainty in their lives.

Today, in the main office of the White House, he received six of these dreamers who went to ask that the executive order that protects them become law -to prevent it from being canceled-, and emphasize that they are citizens who contribute to society, in this case as essential workers in areas such as health, education and agriculture.

Who were the dreamers invited to the White House?

María Praeli, came to the United States at the age of five from her native Peru. Her family moved because Maria’s sister needed medical treatment that was not available in South America, after having suffered a traffic accident. Today Maria works for FWD.us, a pro-immigration activism group.

Esmeralda Tovar-Mora was only 18 months old when her family settled in Kansas from Mexico. Today she is a nursing student, and has a three-year-old daughter with her husband who is a member of the National Guard.

Leydy Rangel today is part of the agricultural workers association. He grew up in this country with his parents who migrated from one place to another following the harvest season.

Karen Reyes was born in Mexico and after two years she settled in the United States with her mother. She graduated as a teacher of hard of hearing children in kindergartens.

Astou Thiane was born in Senegal but grew up in New York. He is a teacher and activist for undocumented children.

Jirayut Latthivongskorn came to the United States at age 9 from Thailand. He gained notoriety years ago when he was the Trump administration’s main plaintiff before the Supreme Court for the rights of Dreamers.

The last time a group of Dreamers were in the Oval Room was in February 2015.

Last March, the House of Representatives approved two immigration laws. One that would give permanent legal status to dreamers, with a path to citizenship, and another that regularizes the situation of agricultural workers. But its future is uncertain in the Senate where the bills have not even been presented for debate.