News > Immigration In The United States
Protecting Undocumented Essential Workers
Posted on Feb 23 2021
An estimated five million undocumented immigrants, including 202, 5000 DACA recipients and 131, 000 TPS holders, are on the frontlines of the #COVID19 pandemic, serving in jobs deemed “essential” to the proper functioning of the nation and our economy. They need and they deserve a pathway to citizenship.
Almost 3 out of 4 undocumented workers in the United States were designated essential during the pandemic – they are farmworkers, meatpackers, nurses, first responders, domestic workers, janitors, construction workers, grocery store clerks, teachers, home health aides, and so much more. They did not have the option of working from home. They put their lives, and their families lives, on the line for us. Now we need to protect them, with a path to U.S. citizenship.
On February 25, Rep. Joaquin Castro will introduce a new standalone bill, the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, designed to do just that. This bill includes provisions that:
- Create a fast, secure, and accessible process for Essential Workers to apply for adjusted status.
- Provide immediate protection against deportation for applicants.
- Include workers who lost their work in essential fields due to COVID-19, as well as relatives of essential workers who died from COVID-19.
100 current Members of Congress, led by Rep. Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Yarmouth, Chairman of the Committee on Budget, requesting that a pathway to citizenship for essential immigrant workers and their families, Dreamers, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders is included in the COVID-19 reconciliation recovery package. The language in Rep. Castro’s Citizenship for Essential Workers Act could ultimately be used as part of the second COVID-19 recovery package.