The following statement is the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition’s response to the Senate Parliamentarian ruling recommending against immigration in the budget reconciliation bill as an organization:
“On Sunday, the Senate Parliamentarian recommended against the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship in the budget reconciliation bill for DACA and TPS holders, essential workers, and farmworkers. However, this is far from the end. Democratic lawmakers will continue to work with the Parliamentarian to find a way to include a pathway to citizenship in reconciliation. Lawmakers know that they cannot go back to their communities without keeping their promise on immigration. We won’t take no for an answer.
The fact that the fate of millions of families, including thousands in Colorado, rests in the hands of an unelected staff attorney for the Senate speaks to the many systematic obstacles that keep American progress blocked. We remind our elected officials that the Parliamentarian’s recommendation is just that: a recommendation. Lawmakers are not bound to this decision. They must act in the best interest of the American people, who overwhelmingly support a pathway to citizenship in reconciliation. Both the President and Democrats in Congress have expressed strong support for this path. It is time for them to show us what that looks like.
Finally, our communities know that change only comes when we demand it. We are more determined than ever to march through the streets of Denver this Saturday on behalf of all our state’s immigrants and refugees. This decision in no way slows our work. On the contrary, it is now absolutely critical for us to speak out. We are more determined to march and demand change.”