"The Time is Now for a Path to Citizenship' is the Message to CT's Senators

As Nelson Pinos received a stay of deportation last month after four years in sanctuary at the First and Summerfield Church to keep his family together, the demand is intensifying nationally and in Connecticut that a pathway to citizenship be included in the reconciliation package to be acted upon by the U.S. Senate.

“Our undocumented community demands relief and a pathway to citizenship,” says CT Students for a Dream in an organizing appeal. “The time is now.”

Last week, they met with Sen Chris Murphy's aides in Hartford to press for support of a pathway to citizenship and “to only vote for the reconciliation package if the pathway to citizenship is kept in it.” The week before Make the Road CT held a round table with Sen Blumenthal to share lived experiences and insist that the time is now.

The campaign is part of a national effort. “The only thing that can protect all immigrant youth, TPS holders, farm workers and other essential workers, is a path to citizenship through reconciliation,” says a sign-on letter to the Senators now being circulated. “Until President Biden and Democrats in Congress deliver on citizenship, the lives of millions of undocumented people remain on the line. Democrats must pass a pathway to citizenship this year, no excuses. And they must use every tool at their disposal.” the letter says.

With an evenly divided Senate, and a filibuster rule that requires 60 votes for most bills to pass, the reconciliation process which only requires a simple majority of 50 plus the vote of the Vice President, places the onus on Democrats to do the job. No Republicans have indicated support for a path to citizenship.

For Nelson Pinos and his family the situation is immediate. Pinos took sanctuary in November of 2017 to keep his family together after being informed that despite living in the US for 29 years and being the father of three young children, he would be deported.

After many failed appeals, the most recent resulted in a one-year stay, during which time lawyers will try to reopen his case and get permanent residency.

Pinos rallied on the steps of New Haven City Hall this week with Senator Blumenthal, homecare workers, janitors, and farmworkers to call for a historic budget blueprint that includes citizenship for millions of essential workers and an investment in good jobs.

The labor and community groups demanded a national economic recovery that centers around the nation’s most vulnerable and essential workers, including a pathway to citizenship for those without status.

The rally was part of a series of town halls across the country hosted by the Natkional Domestic Workers Alliance, the Always Essential coalition and the We Are Home Coalition.

On August 24, the House of Representatives approved the Senate’s budget blueprint, including a path to citizenship for undocumented essential workers, farmworkers, and immigrants in limbo, including those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Citizenship for millions is an investment in the American economy and will boost wages, reduce deficits, and accelerate GDP growth, said the coalition.

“I am forever grateful to have Temporary Protected Status, but much like COVID-19 has limited all of us for a year and a half, so my status has limited my ability to see family and plan for the future for a quarter century,” said Fausto Canelas, a Bridgeport office cleaner and 32BJ member originally from Honduras. “Immigrants like me risked our lives throughout the pandemic, performing essential jobs so that all Americans could live as normally as possible; we are asking Congress to honor our sacrifice by opening a path to citizenship so we can live normally, too.”

Send a letter to both CT Senators here https://actionnetwork.org/.../send-a-letter-demand-ct.../...