Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights
July 19,2021
RESOLUTION CALLING ON THE U.S. CONGRESS TO ENACT A BROAD PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS THROUGH BUDGET RECONCILIATION
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago and the United States were founded by immigrants, who have traveled from around the world seeking a better life; and
WHEREAS, Our nation's immigration system should uphold our basic values of family, economic opportunity, and fairness; and
WHEREAS, The US is currently home to eleven million undocumented immigrants, including half a million who reside in Illinois, of which approximately 300,000 live in the City; and
WHEREAS, The current coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of immigrants, including the undocumented, as "essential workers" who have sustained our City's and nation's health care system, food chain, and other vital services, often as great risk to their own - and their families' - health and well-being; and
WHEREAS, This Council has historically supported our City's immigrants and has previously called for the legalization of undocumented immigrants and other policies that welcome immigrants to this country and to our City; and
WHEREAS, Congress has an opportunity to pass, through the budget reconciliation process, a broad, inclusive pathway to citizenship for millions of essential workers and other immigrants who currently have short-term protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS); and
WHEREAS, Members of Illinois' Congressional delegation will play key roles in moving budget reconciliations forward and have a chance to prioritize a pathway to citizenship during budget legislation negotiations; and
WHEREAS, Even if Congress passes a legalization program through the budget reconciliation process, millions of undocumented immigrants throughout the country, and thousands in Chicago, will likely not qualify and will therefore remain vulnerable to enforcement ...
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