Our immigration system is badly broken and in need of reform. The fact that millions of immigrants continue to live in the shadows in this country—while working essential jobs, paying taxes, and raising families—speaks for itself. We are a nation of immigrants, but too many politicians continue to vilify and scapegoat the very immigrants who we depend on in countless ways, and who are our neighbors, our coworkers, and our friends.
When I worked for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, I saw firsthand how broken our system really is. I saw a largely immigrant workforce working incredibly dangerous jobs, producing the food that many of us eat without thinking once about where it came from or who played a role in delivering it safely to our grocery stores and dinner tables. Yet instead of prioritizing ways to keep workers safe or crack down on employer abuses of vulnerable workers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership would order workplace raids to instill fear in immigrant workers and undermine the power of unions like UFCW, which often is the only source of legal help to undocumented immigrants. The Biden administration’s recent guidance halting such workplace raids is a definitive step in the right direction. But we need to do more to protect our essential workers and help undocumented immigrants work legally.
Passing Real Immigration Reform
- Create a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, farmworkers, and immigrants covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
- Work toward creating pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants already live here and pay taxes
- Protect workers from workplace raids that unfairly target undocumented immigrants while ignoring the problem of employer abuses
- Expand H-2A and H-2B visas to allow employers to fill open positions and get our economy back on track
In Congress, I will work with lawmakers from both parties to pass bipartisan immigration reform that is so long overdue.
