Today Harlem Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Lou Correa, and Jesús G. “Chuy” García, issued the following statement after voting to pass the historic Build Back Better Act:
“The Build Back Better Act we passed today delivers for working for American families across the country, including immigrants and working-class communities by reducing poverty, expanding health care coverage, combating the climate crisis, providing rental assistance, and expanding access to educational opportunities for college students.”
“Throughout this process, we urged our colleagues to include meaningful immigration reform and ensure our immigrant communities are not left behind. We remained firm in our position and when the topic of immigration seemed to be fading, we fought to ensure immigration reform remained at the forefront of negotiations. With our persistence and determination, we were able to salvage a piece of relief for immigrants despite the political reality we face.
This historic legislation includes work authorizations and protection from deportation for more than 6 million individuals.
“This is a good first step forward that allows our constituents to breathe. This historic legislation includes work authorizations and protection from deportation for more than 6 million individuals. Make no mistake, while this is the most transformational policy our communities have seen in over three decades, much work remains in our efforts to ensure a pathway to citizenship. Immigrant communities have lived here for years, raised families, own homes, and contribute to our national economy, yet they still lack permanent residency and the certainty that comes with an earned pathway to a green card and citizenship.
“The work that we have accomplished today sets the foundation for Congress to continue to support and protect our immigrant communities. Today, we secured deportation protections for a generation of immigrants who no longer have to wake up afraid of that knock on the door. The provisions in the Build Back Better Act are a vital step forward to fixing our broken immigration system, but we still have a lot of work to do. We urge the Senate to use their authority to include a pathway to citizenship,” the Members concluded.
Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill, and the northwest Bronx.
First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities.
He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice-Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus.
To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.
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