Latest Parliamentarian Opinion Won’t Stop Push for Citizenship Pathway

This statement can be attributed to Hannah Matthews, deputy executive director for policy at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Washington, D.C., September 30, 2021–We are deeply disappointed by the latest opinion of the Senate Parliamentarian ruling against including a pathway to citizenship in the budget reconciliation package, but we are not deterred in our efforts to secure a pathway to citizenship this year. 

Immigrants and their families must not be left behind as we strive toward a full and inclusive economic recovery. From essential workers on the front lines of the pandemic, to DACA and TPS recipients, immigrants who have made the United States their home should not be asked to wait for relief any longer. They deserve stability. They deserve security. They deserve a pathway to citizenship now.  

There is no way we can possibly build back better if we leave behind millions of immigrants and their families. The health and wellbeing of five million children with undocumented immigrant parents is at stake. 

The urgent need for a pathway to citizenship is clear: a quarter-of-a-million children lifted out of poverty, increased stability for families, and freedom from the fear of being separated from their families and community. 

Enough is enough. Congress must pass a pathway to citizenship this year.