Times of SD: Sen. Padilla Calls on President Biden to Protect Immigrant Communities
By Brooke Binkowski
Three Democratic lawmakers called on Joe Biden’s administration Wednesday to take action to protect immigrant communities before he leaves office in January.
California Sen. Alex Padilla, who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety, joined Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico to urge the Biden-Harris administration to take action to protect long-term immigrant communities before the end of his term.
“Worsening crises in countries around the world, including in Ecuador, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, continue to endanger hundreds of thousands of people. Nationals from these three countries cannot return home due to severe circumstances on the ground,” the Senators wrote in an open letter to the administration.
“We urge the administration to ensure that those from countries with meritorious cases are granted TPS, allowing these individuals to continue building their lives here and contributing to our country.”
The letter also asked the administration to designate Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Ecuador for Temporary Protected Status and to expedite processing times for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients seeking to renew their status.
It additionally called on President Biden to further protect DACA recipients by extending their status for the maximum time possible, expediting the processing of Advance Parole requests, and making it easier for employers to sponsor DACA recipients for H-1B visas.
“In addition to supporting strong border security, we are eager to ensure that DACA recipients, TPS holders, and other immigrants who are critical members of our communities and economies are not forgotten during this busy time,” the Senators wrote.
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