Contact Maine’s Congressional Delegation: Support Pathway To Citizenship In Reconciliation Package
August 2021
Our immigration laws need to be rewritten. Thousands of Mainers are unable to secure a work permit and face potential deportation every day, simply because of where they were born. Fixing our harmful immigration system will make our country a safer, more prosperous place. Unfortunately, Congress has not been able to deliver this for the last several decades, and the system is full of backlogged immigration applications, separated families, and a workforce that has not unlocked its full potential.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act with bipartisan support. These bills would provide a path to citizenship to Dreamers, Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, as well as farmworkers and their immediate family members. However, these bills have gone nowhere in the Senate, despite approximately 70 percent of Americans supporting a pathway to permanent status for undocumented people in our country.
Budget reconciliation is a process to avoid the Senate filibuster and is the only feasible way forward. This month, the House and the Senate passed a budget resolution which includes a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, DED and TPS holders, farmworkers, and essential workers. This passage clears a big legislative hurdle to move forward with budget reconciliation.
Read more about the importance of passing a budget bill that includes a pathway to citizenship in this Portland Press Herald editorial.
This is the year to deliver a pathway to citizenship. Call Maine's congressional delegation today and urge them to support a pathway to citizenship in the reconciliation package:
Senator Susan Collins: 📞 (202) 224-2523 📩 www.collins.senate.gov/contact
Senator Angus King: 📞 (202) 224-5344 📩 www.king.senate.gov/contact
Rep. Chellie Pingree: 📞 (202) 225-6116 📩 https://pingree.house.gov/contact/
Rep. Jared Golden: 📞 (202) 225-6306 📩 https://golden.house.gov/contact
If you live outside of Maine, you can find your representatives here