Support The Dignity Act

I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor The Dignity Act, bi-partisan legislation (V. Escobar, D-TX and M. Salazar R-FL). Immigration is a driving issue on both sides of the aisle, and neither party seems willing or able to get to work on solving this incredibly complicated humanitarian issue. The bill is a good faith attempt to address a myriad of immigration issues such as “border security, border infrastructure, grants legal status to undocumented immigrants already living in the United States with the possibility of earning citizenship, establishes new pathways for asylum seekers, and creates new legal pathways for economic migrants and unaccompanied minors.” (The Dignity Act) The legislation addresses “long-needed reforms such as asylum processing, visa backlogs, and a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants. This includes essential farmworkers, Temporary Protected Status recipients and Dreamers brought to the U.S. as children — a long-overdue recognition of the contributions and potential of these young individuals, who have grown up as Americans and deserve the opportunity to fully participate in our society.” (The Hill,05/27/23, K.Vignarajah,) I understand that this is a huge ask, particularly since Democrats will balk at the dollars allocated to border security and the GOP will fight to grant legal status on such a large scale. But The Dignity Act is a beginning, and every sane house member should be a part of this effort. “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.” (JFK)