By Sen. Ben Ray Luján
WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., joined U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-IL, Cory Booker, D-N.J., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-NV, Tammy Duckworth,D-IL, Mazie Hirono, D-HI, and Alex Padilla, D-CA, in a letter calling on President Joe Biden to protect immigrant families before the end of his presidency.
“As Senators who represent diverse states across our nation and who collectively represent millions of immigrant families, we write to express our deep concern about the threat the incoming administration poses to immigrants in our communities,” the Senators wrote in a letter to President Biden. “Mass deportations would jeopardize the safety and security of millions of mixed-status families, sow deep distrust and fear in the communities we represent, and destabilize the U.S. economy. While we support common-sense steps to better secure our borders and improve border processing, we will continue to oppose any policies that contradict our nation’s core values.”
The senators urged Biden to act swiftly.
“We write now because the window to secure and finalize your administration’s policies is closing rapidly,” the letter stated. “We urge you to act decisively between now and the inauguration of the President-elect to complete the important work of the past four years and protect immigrant families.”
The Senators went on to request that the Biden Administration prioritize the following actions:
Designate and extend Temporary Protected Status for all eligible countries and consider providing Deferred Enforced Departure as appropriate.
Expedite the processing of benefit requests for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.
Protect the ability for DACA holders and others to travel on advance parole.
Prioritize adjudication of pending asylum claims.
Finalize the rule providing automatic extensions for those with work permits and prioritize work permit processing.
The Senators concluded their letter, “We stand ready to support you in these efforts and are committed to working together to ensure that these priorities are realized. Thank you for your continued leadership and dedication to the betterment of our nation.”
