FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2020

CONTACT
Hayley Burgess, [email protected], 202-805-0375

Bills Introduced in Congress Are First Step in Addressing Exclusion of Immigrant Families from CARES Act COVID-19 Relief

WASHINGTON, DC — Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart each released bills today that provide a partial fix for spouses of immigrants who were denied federal relief in the last round of COVID-19 stimulus legislation.

Millions of immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic were excluded from the CARES Act because a member of their household files taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). The two bills introduced today would provide a partial fix for the problem. If passed, the bills will allow spouses of ITIN filers to be eligible for stimulus payments.

Kamal Essaheb, deputy director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement: 

“We applaud Rep. Diaz-Balart and Sen. Rubio’s introduction of the Economic Impact Payment Fairness Act and the American Citizen Coronavirus Relief Act, respectively, as a step toward rectifying the exclusion of immigrants in previous COVID-19 relief bills. However, work remains to be done: under the bills’ provisions, millions of U.S. citizen children will remain ineligible for and thus continue to be left out of much-needed financial relief.

“Many immigrants and their families have been unfairly excluded from federal COVID-19 relief thus far, despite the fact that the pandemic and resulting economic crisis have impacted immigrants and communities of color more extensively than others. Excluding immigrants from financial relief harms entire communities. We need to ensure that everyone — regardless of their birthplace — has access to the testing, health care, and financial support they need. We will get through this crisis only if we come together and take care of everyone in our communities. We urge the Senate, in its next COVID-19 relief bill, to adopt the inclusive approach embodied in the HEROES Act language.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2020

CONTACT
– Juan Gastelum, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), 213-375-3149, [email protected]
– Yatziri Tovar, Make the Road New York (MRNY), 917-771-2818, [email protected]
– Ramis Wadood, Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) at Yale Law School, 203-432-4800, [email protected]

Monumental Victory for DACA Recipients Before Supreme Court in Wolf v. Batalla Vidal

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court today struck down the Trump administration’s unconscionable attempt to terminate the availability of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), ruling that the administration’s efforts to end DACA violated federal law.

The Court’s decision to overturn the Trump administration’s termination of DACA is a monumental victory for nearly 700,000 DACA recipients, who can now continue to safely live, work, and study in the United States. Today’s decision also returns DACA to its initial form and reopens the DACA program to new applicants. All eligible individuals are encouraged to consult with an immigration attorney to apply for, or renew, their DACA immediately.

“Today marks a historic victory for immigrant youth who have led the fight for respect and dignity for all communities,” said Martín Batalla Vidal, a member of Make the Road New York and a lead plaintiff in Wolf v. Batalla Vidal. “We took our power to the streets, the hallways of Congress, to the highest court in the land and we won. For almost three years we have been living with immense uncertainty, and today we are able to breathe a sigh of relief. Nonetheless, our fight does not end with the decision by the Supreme Court; our fight continues for permanent protection for DACA recipients and all undocumented people.”

The Court’s decision comes after a long string of federal courts blocked the Trump administration’s termination of DACA in 2017 and 2018. Wolf v. Batalla Vidal, the first lawsuit that sought to challenge the termination of DACA, was initially brought by six New York DACA recipients and the grassroots organization Make the Road New York (MRNY). They are represented by the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) at Yale Law School, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and lawyers at MRNY. The Supreme Court consolidated Batalla Vidal with other related cases and heard arguments on them on November 12, 2019.

“We are thrilled that the Supreme Court chose to protect the nearly 700,000 DACA recipients currently living in the United States, not to mention their families and communities. The high court is right to reject the Trump administration’s callous attempt to revoke a program as important for communities across the United States as DACA,” said Ramis Wadood, a law student in WIRAC at Yale Law School.

“During his time in the White House, President Trump has been unrelenting in his attacks on immigrant communities in the United States — from jailing and deporting thousands, to severely restricting lawful immigration, to militarizing the border. At the insistence of courageous immigrant communities and their allies who sued the Trump administration, courts have stepped in to stop those illegal and horrifying attacks from time to time. This is an incredible victory fought for and won by the very people Trump continues to want to exclude from our country. Today’s Supreme Court decision is a great day for our country,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.

Today’s decision is a welcome reprieve from the Trump administration’s assault on immigrant communities, but DACA recipients and other immigrants will be fully protected only by congressional action. The potential for future attacks on DACA recipients highlights the need for a legislative solution that more permanently secures immigrants’ right to live in the United States.

“We celebrate today’s decision, and we renew our commitment to combating the Trump administration’s unwavering hostility towards immigrants and people of color. As the Trump administration continues to make our immigration system more cruel, immigrant youth and many other people in our communities are still in need of permanent solutions that secure their futures here at home. We will continue our fight for justice for all,” said Javier H. Valdés, co-executive director of Make the Road New York.

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More information at www.nilc.org/daca/.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2020

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, (213) 375-3149, [email protected]

NILC Stands in Solidarity with Black Community Members and Allies to Declare Black Lives Matter

WASHINGTON — Thousands of people in cities all around the country attended protests over the past week following the murder of George Floyd while in police custody. Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, issued the following statement:

“Our hearts have been broken by and our souls ache because of the murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. The present outpouring of grief, pain, rage, and courageous civil disobedience on streets across our country in response to these deaths has captured the nation’s attention. For too long, we have lived within a system that perpetuates violence against Black people, casting Black lives as expendable.

“Enough. We demand change. We demand justice.

“As a multiracial organization whose mission is to defend the rights of immigrants, we see that the same system that guarantees a prison bed for anyone who makes a mistake but denies them a job, an education, or health care is part of the same system that rips immigrant children from their parents’ arms and enables for-profit incarceration of humans who simply seek a better future for their families.

“We commit to standing with Black communities to demand justice and to follow the leadership and example of Black movement leaders as we do everything we can to dismantle the systems of white supremacy, including within our immigrant justice movement. We grieve with our Black staff, board members, and neighbors, and we are committed to building an America where Black lives matter.”

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