Moises Hernandez Delgado. Ophelia Tapia Alonsoimel Alvarado.Mario Hernandez Enriquez these are just a few of them Basic immigrant workers who died of COVID-19. There are thousands more.
This labor day, we are waiting Congress‘Take the historic next step Budget resolution This includes a long-overdue path to citizenship, and we must recognize and respect the millions of basic immigrant workers who have helped us through the pandemic.
From day one, immigrants have been on the front line of the pandemic: from harvesting food to caring for sick relatives and helping us recover. Because policy makers have failed to take the necessary protective measures in the workplace and in our communities, they have also been disproportionately harmed by COVID-19. Nonetheless, these same workers continue to appear day after day and help us recover as we move forward. It is vital that we support them.
The United States is on the road to recovery.With the end 50% of the U.S. population is vaccinated, We are learning how to adapt to the COVID world. On this road, let us remember the migrant workers who brought us to this country today, and give, respect and protect them. There is no recovery without immigration.
Nowadays, 69% of immigrants-including more than 5 million undocumented immigrants-do important jobsAlthough immigration is the key to our recovery, immigrants continue to suffer exclusion and discrimination.Across the country, we are seeing more and more cases Racially motivated hate crime. Millions of immigrant taxpayers and their families have been Excluded from important federal relief programsMany people live in fear of employer intimidation, arrest, workplace raid, or separation from their families due to deportation.
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Immigration has always been crucial to our identity as a country. Congress now has the power to create life-changing citizenship pathways for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who call this country their home. After decades of partisan stalemate, Congress can and must finally act according to the wishes of the American people, and most of them agreed that the time to complete this work has passed. The pandemic emphasizes the need for policies to ensure the safety of immigrants from xenophobic injustice and treatment in the workplace.
Although the health and safety of essential workers are at risk during the pandemic, millions of people do not even have access to medical care. Immigration is often deliberately excluded, which hurts all of us. If we have learned anything during COVID-19, it is that our health and happiness are interdependent. In order to continue the recovery process, we must ensure that everyone in the community has access to COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccines, as well as other life-saving health and financial support.
It is time for lawmakers to focus their legislation on providing the support all of us (including immigrants) need to flourish in this country. We must urge Congress to quickly pass budget resolutions, to pass a path to citizenship, and no harmful amendments to make immigrant exclusion permanent. Immigrants must participate in all efforts to strengthen worker protection, access to medical care, and our economic recovery. The economic benefits of this are indisputable and meet the requirements for inclusion in this budget resolution. More importantly, through this budget resolution, Congress can finally recognize the dignity and humanity of immigrants. Each of us must do our part to commemorate the immigrants who made our daily lives possible, from harvesting the food we eat, to making the clothes we wear, to educating and caring for our loved ones.
On this Labor Day, let us remember and respect the sacrifices essential workers continue to make in helping to keep the country running. We must do this for the families of Moisés, Ofelia, Yimel, Mario, and millions of basic immigrant workers who are helping our country through this epidemic.
Marielena Hincapié is the executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, a lawyer and Colombian immigrant.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author.
