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Advocates heartened by Biden's immediate focus on immigration

President Joe Biden on Wednesday, shortly after his inauguration, introduced legislation that will give undocumented immigrants the chance to achieve citizenship within eight years.
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Stock photo: "Eugene DACA Rally"

Local advocates are cheering President Joe Biden's plan to reverse immigration policies created by the Trump administration.

Biden on Wednesday, shortly after his inauguration, introduced legislation that will give undocumented immigrants the chance to achieve citizenship within eight years.

Under the proposal Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office, current recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as “Dreamers,” and others in temporary programs that were set up to shield some undocumented immigrants from deportation would be allowed to immediately apply for permanent legal residency, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Maria Gordillo, director of engagement at the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County, said the changes that have happened over the past few years are overwhelming, but the words of incoming President Biden bring much longed for hope.

“I’m celebrating the new president and also thinking about the community, the people who have been living in the shadows for so many years seeing the immigration bill that is going to be introduced. It brings so much hope and opportunity to the undocumented community, especially in Boulder County,” she said.

As a DACA recipient who grew up in Boulder, Gordillo learned early on the importance of advocating, which led her to join the immigration movement as a high school student and ultimately work directly with immigrants. 

“Immigration is like a puzzle, people don't know how it works. With the new immigration bill, I’m hoping and expecting that it will now be safe for people to apply (for legal status),” she said. “This morning I received a bunch of emails from DACA clients who are so excited to have a new president and hope to continue working together (with the center).”

Gordillo recalls in 2017 having to “painstakingly” call her clients to let them know DACA would be cancelled, “having to put myself together to be strong for them,” she said. “Now, seeing that hope in them, means a lot, especially to me.”

As of June, 14,610 DACA recipients were reported to live in Colorado and an additional 26,000 were identified as individuals who could have become eligible for DACA before it was terminated by the Trump administration in September 2017, according to the Migration Policy Institute

Biden's immigration plan includes a proposal to grant temporary legal status for five years to many of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants already living in the United States, who would then be eligible for a green card after paying taxes, submitting to a background check and meeting other requirements, according to the Times.

Also, the plan allows DACA recipients to immediately apply for a green card if they meet specific requirements and creates a three-year path to citizenship, according to Reuters

Laura Soto, operations manager at the Philanthropiece foundation and DACA recipient, said 2020 and the last four years have left an aftertaste of hopelessness as a consequence of the actions taken during the Trump administration. 

“After so much fighting over the past decades, the government simply created more barriers and tried to erase what had been achieved, that is why there is this sense of hopelessness,” she said. “This country has been divided for so long and in very violent ways, which has impacted and exploited in many ways those who are marginalized … The message that was shared (Wednesday) was that we can restore our hope and that the fight has been worth fighting.” 

 

2021_01_21_LL_Lara_SotoLara Soto, operations manager at the Philanthropiece foundation and DACA recipient, will be among those whose videos will be projected on the side of the Byron Rogers Federal Building in Denver on Thursday. The videos will be part of an event to share the demands of people across the state and ask the new federal administration to immediately reform the immigration system. Courtesy photo
One of the things that inspired her most was the president presenting a bill for immigration reform on his first day, “as promised, and he did it responsibly and with real commitment,” Soto said. 

“This was unexpected, I cannot remember another president who has kept a promise like this on his first day,” she said. “To have delivered on his promise to the immigrant community and its allies made me cry in gratitude.” 

Over the past three years, Soto has been working with Cordillo on the creation of Voces Unidas of Boulder County, a local collaborative effort working to develop equitable support systems for youth in St. Vrain Valley and Boulder Valley school districts, to create access to services and mobilize undocumented youth who experience barriers and marginalization because of their status.

“These issues on politics, which immigration has become an important part of, can really harm and have already harmed our children … the leaders of the future,” she said. “This is the most important mission of Voces Unidas, to serve the undocumented kids in the school districts, unifying the community and elevating the voices of those who are at the margins.” 

To continue pushing for change, Soto will be joining a socially distanced news conference five immigrants organizations will hold this evening at the Byron Rogers Federal Building in Denver. The event aims to share the demands of people across the state and ask the new administration to immediately reform the immigration system.

“As Joe Biden steps into the role of president of the United States –– a role entrusted to him by millions of voters, including many newly naturalized immigrants –– we are both hopeful and sober,” Lisa Duran, executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, or CIRC, said in an email. “Our new president has stated publicly that he has a responsibility to protect the human and civil rights of all those in this country. His commitment to place a 100-day moratorium on deportations, and to create a pathway to citizenship for all are important steps and our communities need more to ensure justice for immigrants.”

At 5 p.m. today, leaders from CIRC, the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, American Friends Service Committee, Philanthropiece and Spring Institute will speak on the “urgent need for legislative and executive action to protect and honor immigrant rights” while videos of community members are projected onto the building, according to a news release. 

Soto’s is one of the videos that will be shown. 

“We need Biden to come in immediately to heal the policies and laws that Trump imposed against immigrant families that have been so harmful, such as the separation of children at the border and the criminalization of our immigrant community,” Soto said.

To register in advance for the event, click here.


Silvia Romero Solís

About the Author: Silvia Romero Solís

Después de viajar por el mundo, Silvia llegó a establecerse en Longmont. Ella busca usar su experiencia en comunicaciones y cultura para crear más equidad y diversidad en las noticias de Longmont.
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