It’s a new day. Trump is finally gone. Biden is going fast. Immigrants are welcome here.
"We won't stop"
Immigration used to scare and divide Democrats. No more. It’s a matter of when, not if. When Democrats have enough power in Congress to legalize 11 million, they will.
Por:Frank Sharry
Immigration activists wave US flags during a rally outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles, California on January 14, 2021.
Imagen Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
On day one, Biden announced eight immigration-related executive actions: ending the Muslim and African bans; reinstating DACA; ending border wall construction; imposing a 100-day moratorium on deportations; putting in place interim enforcement priorities that are narrow; beginning the wind-down of Remain in Mexico (MPP); extending DED for Liberians so they can apply for permanent status under legislation passed last year; and ending Trump’s attempts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count for purposes of congressional representation.
I literally tear up as I name-check these changes. Every one of them represents years of tireless struggle. Every one of them represents a huge victory.
As my mom worked and parented, all in one breath, she instilled in us the values that I carry with me today: “por la familia, todo.” Lee este contenido en <a href="https://www.univision.com/noticias/opinion/por-la-familia-todo-ruben-gallego-sobre-su-candidatura-para-ser-el-primer-senador-latino-de-arizona" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000147-f3a5-d4ea-a95f-fbb7f52b0000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1726508089253,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-d1c8-de50-affb-f1df3e1d0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1726508089253,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-d1c8-de50-affb-f1df3e1d0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.univision.com/noticias/opinion/por-la-familia-todo-ruben-gallego-sobre-su-candidatura-para-ser-el-primer-senador-latino-de-arizona","_id":"00000191-fbe6-d0b9-a3df-ffee82b60000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"linkText":"español","_id":"00000191-fbe6-d0b9-a3df-ffee82b10000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">español</a>.
"What a sad reflection that the Republican Party has moved from Abraham Lincoln, who <a href="https://www.lincolncottage.org/lincoln-and-immigration/" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lincolncottage.org/lincoln-and-immigration/&source=gmail&ust=1722615259799000&usg=AOvVaw1h4-6RbvpglrZVIbOjgpuE" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">said </a>immigration was a ‘source of national wealth and strength’ and Ronald Reagan, who <a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nation" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nation&source=gmail&ust=1722615259799000&usg=AOvVaw3smYQcjpnK2Yg75NSEOBUf" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">called </a>for his ‘city on the hill’ to be ‘open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here,’ to Donald Trump, who <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-says-immigrants-are-poisoning-blood-country-biden-campaign-liken-rcna130141" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-says-immigrants-are-poisoning-blood-country-biden-campaign-liken-rcna130141&source=gmail&ust=1722615259799000&usg=AOvVaw1u4LrDvU2tKeNxJCdbz96i" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">says </a>immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of our country".
"Our current immigration laws include so many hurdles that can keep families in limbo, and even being married to a U.S. citizen isn’t always enough to allow someone to get a green card".
"For those of us whose livelihoods depend on it, President Biden’s actions to protect and preserve DACA show a striking contrast with those of Trump and MAGA Republicans. Trump has a record of trying to end DACA and will try again if he wins another term".
"While immigrants by now are accustomed to being the tip of the spear in the GOP’s arsenal of attacks, let's be clear-eyed that the threat now is beyond harming immigrant communities or calling attention to the border. This is about using this issue as a tool to further Trump’s political ambitions, even if that means suppressing the right to vote, undermining our election results, or stoking more political violence".
"This month comes at a special moment in our nation’s history. For the first time, we have more Latinos serving in Congress than ever before. In the Senate, the Democratic Majority has confirmed a historic number of Latino judicial nominees and recently confirmed the first Latina to serve on the Federal Reserve in the Board’s 109-year history".
"This is the clean energy boom unleashed by President Biden: good-paying jobs in a fast-growing industry and lower bills for working families — all while addressing the climate crisis affecting our lives".
Putting presidents, former presidents and coup plotters on trial is an honorable and necessary practice to maintain a healthy democracy. Failure to put on trial presidents or former presidents who broke the law or committed crimes has had devastating consequences in Latin America.
Mexico's migrant policy bears responsibility for the deaths of 39 migrants in the fire at a detention center in Ciudad Juarez. They were in the custody of the Mexican government, in a federal facility.
In addition to the executive orders, Biden-Harris introduced a sweeping legislative proposal centered on pathways to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants. The bill received a great deal of press attention, with skeptical reporters focused not on its bold and progressive provisions, of which there are many, but on its viability. How can you get 60 votes in the Senate if you need 10 Republicans? Isn’t this just a message bill? Are House Democrats going to take up something so controversial when their majority is threatened in two years?
The proposed legislation represents the unity position of the Democratic coalition. Immigration used to scare and divide Democrats. Rahm Emanuel in 2007 warned Democrats to steer clear of immigration, calling it a “third rail issue.” No more. It’s a matter of when, not if. When Democrats have enough power in Congress to legalize 11 million, they will.
But right now, Democrats have the slimmest of majorities. Will Republicans help out and forge a bipartisan compromise? Let’s be realistic. The GOP is now the party of Trump, power, plutocracy and racism. Many won’t even admit that Biden won fair and square. They want power not progress. Democrats will have to go it alone if they want to produce change that changes lives.
Democrats have a one vote majority in the Senate. How to translate 51 votes into a legalization victory when Republicans are opposed? If Democrats get fed up enough with Republican obstruction, they will end or reform the Senate filibuster. If not, how can Democrats make progress with 51 votes in a Senate that normally requires 60 votes to approve legislation? They could use “reconciliation” - a legislative procedure that permits select bills to pass the Senate by 51 votes - to approve a legalization for as many millions as we can.
Since it’s likely that a big economic package will be moving forward in the spring, it just might work to include immigrants essential to our economic recovery - Dreamers, TPS holders, farm workers and other essential workers. It won’t be easy, it’s not a sure thing, but if we fight hard and make the case, we just might put millions on pathways to permanent legal status and citizenship.
It’s worth noting why Biden and the Democratic coalition are making immigration such a priority: 1) Trump’s nativism backfired with the majority of the public; public support for immigrants and immigration has never been stronger; 2) immigration as an electoral wedge issue has lost its edge, as Republican attacks are running into stronger public support for immigrants; 3) the pro-immigrant movement has changed the terms of the debate, with the deter - detain - deport model of the past giving way to a good governance approach predicated on the belief that immigrants are us; and 4) as a seasoned legislator, Biden has a deft touch when it comes to locating the sweet spot that unifies the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic coalition.
He’s united and inspired the big tent Democratic party. Together, we have a chance to make history, even in the face of Republican opposition. And whatever we win, we won't stop until all 11 million undocumented immigrants in America are given the chance to be formally recognized as the Americans they already are.
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