More than a hundred immigrants and activists gathered this Wednesday in front of the White House to demand the Government of President Joe Biden, a path to legal permanent residence with a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented who live in the country.
The protesters at the demonstration, which is part of the National Immigrant Action Week, also demanded that the government end deportations and the use of the health measure known as Title 42.
“The Biden Administration has the power to end Title 42, and we are waiting for them to deliver on their promise to humanely serve people arriving at the border,” said Fabiola Mendieta, an organizer for Brooklyn Immigrant Community Support.
Title 42 is a health regulation that the government of then-President Donald Trump began to apply in March 2020 in response to the covid-19 pandemic and that allows the immediate expulsion of foreigners, a measure highly criticized by civil rights groups who denounce that the asylum process in the country was fatally wounded with her.
Despite criticism from Democrats during Trump’s tenure, the Biden administration has continued to use that rule to reject the entry of tens of thousands of migrants.
The Haitian community marked its presence in the protest in the country’s capital, where it denounced being a victim of the separation of families and deportations despite the crisis in its country of origin.
Yoliswa Cele, a founder of the UndocuBlack Network group, called for solidarity among immigrants to achieve their common goal of being able to access citizenship and reminded Biden that without minority votes he would not have reached the White House.
“(Biden) Don’t make us lose hope,” he warned.
Biden led a comprehensive immigration reform in Congress but his project to give citizenship to the 11 million undocumented people was stalled due to a lack of Republican support in the Senate, a similar goal that less ambitious attempts by the Democrats had.
For this reason, Biden and his followers continue to try to find alternatives to approve at least one Amparo known as “parole” to about 6.5 million, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which would allow these migrants to obtain a work permit and would protect them from deportation temporarily.
Delegations of immigrants from at least five states, including New York, Illinois, and California, participated in today’s call and are part of the national “We Are Home” campaign.