November, 19 2021, 11:44am EDT
House Democrats Miss Historic Opportunity to Provide Citizenship for Immigrants in Build Back Better Act, Senate Must Correct Course If They Expect Latinx Voters to Turnout in 2022 Midterm Elections
Voces de la Frontera Plans Escalated Actions in Coming Weeks in Anticipation of Parliamentarian's Advisory Opinion & Senate Vote
WASHINGTON
Democrats in Congress failed to include a pathway to citizenship through registry for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the Build Back Better bill that they passed this morning. Instead, the bill only provides temporary work permits for an estimated 7.1 million.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera, issued the following statement:
"Let's be clear: a majority of Latinx and immigrant voters in Wisconsin and other swing states elected President Biden, Vice President Harris and Democrats to Congress based on their promise to pass a path to citizenship this year. The failure of Democratic leadership in the House to only include temporary work permits in Build Back Better is a betrayal to those who've lived and worked here for decades, paying taxes and sacrificing their lives in essential industries during the pandemic.
And for what reason? To cater to racists they will never win over and to cave to corporate interests that rely on a more exploitable workforce to increase their profit margins. Their decision does not reflect what the American people want, as poll after poll shows that providing a path to citizenship for immigrants is immensely popular amongst voters across the political spectrum.
Democrats cannot hide behind so-called "norms" or the advisory opinions of the unelected parliamentarian to excuse their failure to deliver for immigrant workers and families this year. It was this failure under the Obama Administration that paved the way for the far right in 2016. It's now up to the Biden Administration and Senate Democrats to reverse course and ensure that history does not repeat itself again in 2022 and 2024.
Voces de la Frontera members and our national network, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement Action (FIRM Action), and movement allies across the country will continue to escalate pressure on President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats to deliver on citizenship with actions in Washington D.C. and across the country in the coming weeks.
We are also calling for a national Day Without Latinxs and Immigrants protests and strikes in the event that the parliamentarian advises against including work permits in the Build Back Better bill. Latinx and immigrant workers are prepared to withhold their immense labor power amidst rising inflation, a labor shortage and the ongoing pandemic to win the dignity and safety that every family deserves."
Voces de la Frontera is Wisconsin's leading immigrant rights group - a grassroots organization that believes power comes from below and that people can overcome injustice to build a better world.
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"It's time for New Jersey to move forward," said U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is running to replace the senator.
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One day after the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee notified Sen. Bob Menendez that it had voted to move toward a potential vote on expelling him from the upper chamber of Congress, the New Jersey Democrat told Gov. Phil Murphy that he would resign, effective August 20.
Menendez announced his resignation a week after he was convicted of 16 counts of bribery and acting as a foreign agent.
But with senators and members of the U.S. House long having called on the lawmaker to resign over the federal bribery charges, one leading ethics group asked why Menendez was waiting nearly a month to leave office.
"What's the holdup?" asked Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Menendez was convicted last week of accepting bribes from three businessmen and acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the Egyptian government. He pleaded not guilty.
CREW promptly called on Menendez to resign after his conviction, saying he had spent years "ducking accountability for corruption."
"There is no room in the Senate for a convicted felon, especially not one convicted of taking bribes," said CREW president Noah Bookbinder last week. "He must resign today or be immediately expelled."
Manu Raju of CNN pointed out that the August 20 resignation date allows Menendez "to collect another taxpayer-funded paycheck."
Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), the chair and vice chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, respectively, said Monday that the panel had voted to begin "an adjudicatory review of [Menendez's] alleged violations of Senate Rules."
"An adjudicatory review is required when the committee considers disciplinary actions, such as expulsion or censure," said the senators.
Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis noted that lawmakers' resignation before their colleagues have a chance to recommend their expulsion is "a pattern throughout history."
Menendez was convicted of using his influence to meddle in three state and federal criminal cases to protect his associates, as well as taking actions that benefited the government of Egypt in exchange for bribes. Prosecutors said he ghostwrote a letter to his Senate colleagues about lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. He did the favors in exchange for stacks of gold bars and $480,000 in cash that he hid in his home.
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Kim said Tuesday that Menendez had "made the right decision for New Jersey by agreeing to step down next month."
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Tlaib continued:
Since 1948, the U.S. has provided more than $141 billion in weapons to the Israeli government to fund the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, including $17.9 billion since October. Netanyahu's apartheid regime has already slaughtered over 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 15,000 children. Yet my colleagues and the Biden administration continue to approve more funding and send more weapons—even as innocent children like Hind Rajab are targeted with 355 bullets, shot in the head by Israeli snipers, burned to death in their tents with U.S.-made weapons, bombed while playing at school, deliberately starved to death, and Palestinians are bombed in refugee camps and discovered in mass graves, naked and with their hands tied, all livestreamed for the world to see. These are undeniably war crimes under international law.
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While U.S. President Joe Biden has decried Israel's "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has lamented that "far too many Palestinians have been killed," the administration continues to send billions of dollars worth of arms to the key Middle Eastern ally.
"Our government must stop supporting and funding this genocide now."
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On Tuesday, a coalition of labor unions representing millions of U.S. workers urged the Biden administration to suspend weapons transfers to Israel.
Progressive groups including the Council on American Islamic Relations and CodePink have also called for Netanyahu's arrest. A coalition of pro-Palestine organizations is planning to surround the Capitol during the prime minister's speech to demand his arrest.
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Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, said Tuesday that "it's hard to imagine a greater blow to American credibility and standing around the world than for our Congress to host the prime minister of Israel, an indicted and hopefully soon-to-be-arrested war criminal, responsible for the gravest mass atrocities against Palestinians the world has ever seen."
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The legal rule required courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretation of a law if Congress had not passed legislation specifically addressing the issue, and permitted public servants in the federal government to craft regulations related to climate protections, workers' rights, and other crucial issues affecting millions of people in the United States.
The Loper Bright ruling last month, said Warren, made clear that "giant corporations are using far-right, unelected judges to... undermine the will of Congress."
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Specific actions the legislation would take include:
- Streamlining the White House's review period for regulations, creating a 120-day time limit for review;
- Authorizing agencies to reinstate rules that are rescinded by Congress through the Congressional Review Act;
- Creating an Office of the Public Advocate to help members of the public participate more effectively in regulatory proceedings;
- Requiring agencies to respond to citizen petitions for rulemaking that contain 100,000 or more signatures;
- Establishing financial penalties for corporate special interests that knowingly submit false information during the rulemaking process; and
- Requiring all rulemaking participants to disclose industry-funded research or other related conflicts of interest.
Without Chevron deference, said Warren's office in a statement, "industry-backed lobbyists hold more negotiating power in the regulatory process than the general public. They schedule private meetings with regulators, fund sham scientific studies to submit with public comments, and misrepresent the negative impact of stricter regulatory oversight. These actions slow down the enforcement of important regulations, and the American people pay the price."
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