Provide work permits and parole-in-place for immigrant spouses married to U.S. citizens to bring families together, strengthen the economy and solve America’s labor shortage
WASHINGTON — Yesterday, a “State of OUR Unions” campaign was launched in a press conference hosted by the nonpartisan American Families United (AFU) and American Immigration Business Coalition Action (ABIC Action), calling on President Biden to unite families and use his authority to expand work permits for spouses of United States citizens before the State of the Union on March 7.
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love. Yet, for about a million American families with non-citizen spouses, it is a day of heartbreak and fear. Many families have been torn apart from their loved ones; others are forced to live in the shadows. Threatened, they live with family separation caused by outdated, harsh and unfair immigration laws.
Mixed-status family testimonials from New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Ohio and Nevada are listed below, including from U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), the only member of Congress in a mixed-status family and married to a DACA recipient:
Ashley DeAzevedo, from New Jersey, President of American Families United:
“Today, we are calling on President Biden to use his authority. He could change this issue and end the suffering of these American citizens today, simply by using his authority to provide the relief to U.S. citizen spouses that they so desperately need. The president has that authority, he’s demonstrated that he isn’t afraid to use it to expand work permits for new arrivals, including over a million new immigrants from Ukraine, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti. American families deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect as new arrivals. We’re tired of waiting, we’re frustrated and we’re angry. Big reminder here, that we vote. We’re present in key swing states in hundreds of thousands and our number one issue is that we want relief — work permits for our long-term immigrant contributor spouses that are married to U.S. citizens.”
James O’Neill, Director of Legislative Affairs for ABIC Action:
“Throughout the country and in every state and in every sector, we are experiencing a devastating labor shortage. Recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that if every unemployed person in the country got a job today, there would still be a shortfall of nearly 3 million jobs nationwide, that would need to be filled. When those jobs are not filled, we see consequences for the American consumer. We see higher prices and wait times. For the agriculture labor shortage, there are national security implications. A nation that does not have the labor to feed itself, is not a secure nation. It is clear that any part of this solution has to be immigration reform. According to a recent poll, 66 percent of voters, regardless of party, support policy changes providing a work permit to long-term contributors, farm workers, Dreamers without DACA, and spouses of U.S. citizens. American voters can tell the difference between border policy and immigration policy. They understand the labor shortage and they want solutions to that labor shortage because they also understand how that labor shortage is impacting them, impacting their bank accounts and their pocketbooks. What we see is that Americans want solutions and we are here today asking the president for a very simple one that he could do with a stroke of pen, which is to protect mixed-status families by giving work permits through the mechanism of parole to the 1.1 million families that are impacted directly.”
U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), the only member of Congress in a mixed-status marriage:
“I am the wife of a DACA recipient and as a mixed-status family, this fight is so darn personal. Migrant families are a fundamental part of our communities. Nearly 1.1 million American citizens are married to an undocumented person. I’m on that list! And approximately 4.9 million U.S. citizen children have at least one parent who is undocumented. Separating families is an inhumane policy choice that attempts against every fabric of our multicultural and multiracial democracy. Migrants represent 17 percent of the workforce. In over 10 years, immigrants can provide over $7 trillion dollars directly to our economy, boost our GDP by $1.7 trillion and provide another trillion dollars in federal revenue, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. At a time when we’re fighting inflation from our groceries, figuring out how many jobs one must work to pay rent or afford a mortgage, we have to ensure that migrant families are able to remain in the country, can access work legally and keep investing in our communities. Parole and legal pathways to citizenship is the way that we are able to move forward, contribute to our economy and keep families together. Today is Valentine’s Day and as we’re celebrating love, communities and spouses, the fact that so many people in this moment are worried that they may be separated from their loved ones because of this broken immigration system is despicable and unacceptable. But what is needed in this Congress, more than ever, is the political will to work together for a solution that makes our economy stronger. Not just for immigrant families, but for every single American. With a stroke of a pen, the president of the United States of America can bring relief to millions who are in fear of being separated from their loved ones.”
Liza, from Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. citizen spouse, married for 11 years with two children, flight attendant for 25 years:
“I am a U.S. citizen and yet I live with the fear every single day that my family could be torn apart. My husband of 12 years is from Mexico and has no criminal history. We met salsa dancing here in Atlanta. On the very week we were married, we began the legal immigration process, but three years later we hit the ultimate roadblock when we were advised that my husband could be subject to a lifetime bar from the U.S., should he leave to attend his visa interview in Mexico. Imagine our devastation that day, when instead of finally reaching the end of the arduous immigration process, we discovered there was no end in sight. Together with our two U.S. Citizen children, we’ve been stuck living in the shadows ever since. We can’t take a plane, train or a cruise together, like all the other happy families I see when I’m working as a flight attendant. It’s just too risky. I can’t even receive a phone call from my husband without my heart skipping a beat for fear he’s been detained. Not to mention the financial implications and the anxiety that living in this state of uncertainty evokes. President Biden, U.S. citizens should not be forced to choose between spouse and country. I am calling on you to legitimize the spouses of U.S. citizens and provide them with work permits now. We don’t know what the result of the next election will be. We need security for our families before it is too late.”
Megan, from Wisconsin, U.S. citizen to long-term immigrant spouse:
“I am also part of the 1.1 million U.S. citizens in a mixed-status marriage and here with American Families United. I’ve been with my husband for 20 years, married over 10 and we have two beautiful kids, I have a career that I love. My husband has worked in multiple industries. A work parole and permit for my husband would be life-changing for our family. We have waited for the immigration policy change we need through four presidencies. In this time, thousands of U.S. citizens, just like me and others, have had their families separated or have been forced out of their own country with no recourse. It is shocking to continue seeing President Bident continuing to ignore families of U.S. citizens, especially at a time when we see some newly arrived immigrants receiving the help that we’ve been waiting for. It’s shocking that we’ve been ignored when we hear that our issue polls extremely well. What will it take for President Biden to decide that our families are worth helping?”
Ed Markowitz, U.S. Navy Veteran with Colorado roots, forced to live in exile in Canada due to his wife’s immigration status:
“I am a father, a husband, a veteran, and U.S. citizen. I am speaking to you today because my wife of 22 years, Rocio, is an immigrant who is permanently barred from admission into the United States because of an unjust and broken immigration system. This dysfunctional immigration system has forced my son, my wife, and me to live in exile — away from our families, and away from everything I’ve ever known as home. I was aware, before we were married, that Rocio was without documentation. But as an American citizen, I expected to be able to vouch for my wife and help to normalize her immigration status into our community. This wasn’t the case because in 2011, she was permanently barred from entering our country. The factor that disqualified her, triggering this lifetime ban into the U.S., is the second undocumented entry. It’s no matter that she left on her own accord to seek medical care for a son, which was unavailable while they lived in the U.S. with no documentation. Her subsequent return to reunite with her other immediate family members now carries exile forward, in perpetuity, to my American family, with zero good purpose to our country and our family. My spirit was shadowed when I clearly saw the injustice that’s being served to innocent and beautiful American families. My son’s roots were ripped from our beloved foothills and suburban prairie life. And after I scrambled frantically and eventually secured some semblance of a future for my family, I was finally able to see and begin to grieve that my own roots, like 1.1 million other American families who are caught up in similar situations, were also indeed torn. And it hurt! It still hurts. And, still there’s hope. I have resolved to defend my own American family. Right now, my friends and family back home in Colorado, are at Senator Bennett’s office and they’re asking him to stand up for my family. And to stand up for every other American family in our situation. They are asking Senator Bennet to be aware and to lead for justice for American families who need relief from this God-awful American immigration dead-end. Senator Bennet, help us raise our message to President Biden for immediate parole relief and work authorization to U.S. citizens’ spouses. Tell President Biden to heal our broken hearts. He can do it right now with his signature. Senator Benett, champion a senate companion bill to bipartisan HR 1698, The American Families United Act, co-sponsored by my own Colorado District 7 representative, Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen. Thank you! It means a lot, to a lot of people. It means the world to me and my family! And to President Biden, please hear our stories. See how this is affecting us. Please, take action now. Use your executive authority to grant parole to my wife and to all the other undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens in mixed-status families. Stop our hearts from being broken! Heal our broken hearts.”
Allyson, from Pennsylvania, U.S. citizen spouse to long-term immigrant, three children, former public school teacher and construction company CEO:
“I’m a U.S. citizen from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I’m a former Spanish teacher from the school district of Philadelphia. Currently, I am a small business owner of a construction company here in the city of brotherly love. I met my husband in 2003. He is a Brazilian national and cannot successfully gain a path to gain legal status, despite our 20 year marriage. Early on, I naively believed that my U.S. citizenship would bring an easy fix to the immigration problems he faced. We saw numerous lawyers, all of them sadly presented the same options: leave the U.S. for 10 years minimum, or remain in the shadows here in the U.S., and await a change in law. Fast forward 20 years, our three children are now young adults. Our oldest daughter, embarking on a career as an occupational therapist, our middle daughter pursuing a pre-med track, and our son preparing for his senior year of high school, excited for his college years. These are the babies that accompanied me in strollers when I first started my advocacy efforts for our struggles. They are grown, but very much in need of mom and dad. I am 52-years-old. Another 20 years of fighting for changes in law, will put me at 72. I deserve to enter my adult years peacefully, enjoying some part of my life without this constant fear of separation or exile looming over my family. President Biden, we are U.S. citizens and we need relief for our families.”
Sherrie Licon, Ed.D., Arizona, U.S. citizen, married with two children, educator (English/Spanish):
“My name is Dr. Sherrie Licon and I am a mother, wife, and dedicated educator. My husband and I have been married for 15 years. We have three United States citizen children. I was widowed suddenly at the age of 29 and left with a toddler daughter. With noble integrity and genuine love, my husband has raised my daughter as his own child, since we married. Every child deserves to live in a safe and secure home. As a mother, it breaks my heart to say that our home is not a sanctuary because of unjust immigration policies that cast a dark shadow over our lives. Our family and our children live in a constant state of anxiety that their father — the rock of our family — could be apprehended and deported from the United States at any time. My children experience nightmares and scream in the middle of the night fearing that their father has been taken from them. We battle constant mental and physical health issues related to anxiety and depression due to the unyielding stress of lack of immigration status. We need the assurance of continued unification and a work permit. My U.S. citizen children deserve to feel safe in America. And I, a U.S. citizen, deserve to feel safe with my husband and children. As a family, we are unable to enjoy the small things in life that other families take for granted — a family drive on a Sunday, a weekend trip to the beach or Disneyland, or jointly purchasing a home. As a mixed-status family, we cannot do any of this for fear of apprehension. I am a U.S. citizen and a contributing member of society. I have worked in education for more than 20 years — I have devoted my entire career to helping others, building communities and providing educational opportunities for children and adults in my state. I am a teacher and a servant leader. I work for one of the largest community college systems in the country. I believe in the power of strong families and strong communities and have worked hard to create educational programs that empower learners to transcend socioeconomic barriers and break cycles of generational poverty. Every day – every day – I make a positive contribution to the community that I love. Meanwhile, I don’t feel the love in return when my own family lives in the shadows and in constant fear of separation. We are afraid for our lives, our livelihood, and our families. Families should be together forever, not in constant fear of separation. Mark 10:9 states, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” My family, and so many millions of others, are joined together by God and by love. We, American citizens, have a sacred right to be unified and live and love in the safety and security of our great nation.”
Gina Cano, M.D., U.S. citizen spouse from Ohio living in exile in Mexico. Due to a physician shortage in rural Ohio, travels back and forth to provide extra support in nursing homes and primary care offices (English/Spanish):
“10 years ago, I received a call from my husband while I was working in a clinic in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I heard the devastating words that no spouse ever wants to hear — he was never coming home. He had left for Mexico to pursue the only path we had to no longer live in the shadows in the United States. We had been told that the process should only take a few months, but instead, he received a lifetime bar at his visa interview. This decision completely changed my life. There was nothing I could do as a U.S. citizen to change it or to even appeal. I was in the middle of completing my residency in family medicine, and the first difficult decision I was forced into was to complete my training and live apart from my husband. The difficult decisions have continued — turning down dream job offers, leaving my country to keep our family together, giving birth to our children in a foreign country, and missing countless holidays and family events because it’s just too far. Now that I have been living in Mexico for 9 years and have separated our family multiple times to help cover other physicians in the U.S., particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to pay my student loans. I am facing living apart from my aging parents and never being able to pursue our dreams together as a family because of these outdated and ineffective immigration bars. My husband is a kind, hard-working man who received a permanent bar for just having helped his family. We should not be punished for the rest of our lives for that. There are millions of families, as you’ve heard today, like ours that are faced with so many difficult decisions that no U.S. citizen should have to make. That’s why I’m imploring President Biden to use his existing powers to allow spouses of U.S. citizens who face immigration bars to request work permits. These permits would not only enable our families to work legally and contribute to our communities but also would ensure that we can stay together. Please, President Biden, do not break our hearts again; please keep our families together, too!”
Elena, from Nevada, U.S. citizen spouse and U.S. Department of Homeland Security employee:
“To protect my identity, I am calling myself “Elena.” I am a proud United States citizen, a devoted mother of two, and a dedicated employee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for over two decades. I just remain anonymous to safeguard my livelihood, as I am the sole provider for my family and fear repercussions if my identity is revealed. I hope to be the voice for millions of families like mine, shattered by our nation’s broken immigration system. I married the love of my life, who was an undocumented immigrant. Together, we worked hard to achieve the “American Dream,” raising two beautiful children and purchasing our home. Despite our efforts to fix his legal status, we were met with a lifetime bar. A background check is required at my job. It required his Social Security number and it forced me to make the agonizing decision to divorce him, fearing the loss of my federal job. The repercussions of this decision have inflicted immense pain and suffering upon me and my children. I battle with depression and anxiety. In every election, my anxiety is really high. Immigration is one of my top issues to see where the candidates stand. What will happen with my family? How could it be different with this administration? Will it destroy my life? I implore you, Mr. President, to please extend work permits to spouses of U.S. citizens and release us from the shackles that bind our lives. Our U.S. citizen children deserve the right to have our families together. I speak not only for myself but for the countless mixed-status families trapped in a perpetual state of fear and emotional turmoil. Please, President Biden, the power to alleviate the suffering of American families is in your hands. Our hearts are breaking! Please grant work permits to spouses of U.S. citizens and afford us the dignity, integrity and respect that we desperately seek.”
Irayda Flores, Arizona, owner of Pescaderia el Puerto de Guaymas and supporter of the American Business Immigration Coalition (English/Spanish):
My name is Irayda Flores. As a Latina small business owner, my journey embodies the essence of the American Dream, built on hard work, sacrifice, and unwavering determination. I arrived in this country with a vision, a university degree from Mexico, and a legal work visa — eager to build a better life in the land of opportunity. Today, I am the proud owner of Pescadería el Puerto de Guaymas, a thriving seafood wholesale/retail company with three locations in Arizona. My story is not just one of personal success, but of economic empowerment for my community. Through my business, I provide jobs to many Americans, from distribution, processing and packaging, sales, marketing, management, and more. I am proud to be the sole Arizona-based supplier importing fresh seafood weekly from the Pacific Ocean, directly serving restaurants and hotels across our state. And soon, I plan to expand my business beyond Arizona, creating even more opportunities for growth and employment in Nevada and California. Yet, despite my contributions to this country — paying taxes, employing Americans, and bolstering the economy — it took me 17 long years to finally obtain my U.S. Permanent Resident status. My journey was fraught with uncertainty, fear, and anxiety, as I navigated the complex immigration system while simultaneously building my business and raising my family. My son is a DACA recipient and a college graduate, my daughters are U.S. citizens, and I am their proud mother, determined to secure a better future for them and all immigrant families like ours. My journey is a testament to the resilience and determination of immigrant small business owners across this nation. We are not just entrepreneurs; we are job creators, community leaders, and champions of economic growth. During long periods of uncertainty about my immigration status, my business was also in jeopardy and I feared losing my business and livelihood. I was terrified of being torn apart from my family and understand the plight of mixed-status families. Too often, the immense contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs are overlooked, our voices silenced, and our dreams deferred by an immigration system in desperate need of reform. Despite having a work permit for an extended period, at one point, it was denied, placing me at risk of a deportation order. It was terrifying and extremely stressful. Being deported would have destroyed my business and forced me to lay off many Americans who relied on me for their jobs and to provide for their own families. As a mother, it would have separated my family, tearing me apart from my two U.S. citizen daughters. Small businesses are essential to the American economy and core to the financial security of our middle class. Small businesses are a driving force in job creation and create the most jobs! Immigrant small business owners, like myself, make significant contributions to our nation’s economy, enrich the local workforce, and foster economic growth. President Biden, it’s in your hands. You have the authority to make this act happen. All you need to help is to have compassion for the immigrant community.”
BACKGROUND:
AFU Valentine’s Day website launched the “State of OUR Unions” campaign. In March, AFU will deliver a letter to President Biden with 5,000 signatures of U.S. citizen spouses and their siblings, parents and communities demanding action. AFU mixed-status families will hold events across key swing states, including Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
AFU and ABIC Action are leaders in the coalición “Here to Work”, which ha reunido a más de 300 businesses, Republican and Democratic governors and members of Congress, as well as community advocates, to urge the Biden administration to expand work permits for long-term immigrant contributors already in the U.S. — including through the use of parole under the significant public benefit provisions of current law.
Taking bold, humane, common-sense action is justified on its merits and it is politically popular. A recent poll by Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners found Americans support positive immigration solutions, especially granting work permits for long-term immigrants, Dreamers without DACA and spouses of U.S. citizens.
As laid out in a memorando publicado por American Families United,, immigration voters — U.S. citizen adults living with undocumented immigrants — are a force in swing states, making common-sense, humane action on immigration their top priority. Among the memo’s key points:
- Young Latino voters will be vital to the outcome of the 2024 election. A Brookings Institute report in May 2023 found that “37% of young Latino voters reported that the GOP ‘cares a great deal about Latinos’ — the highest percentage across all age groups,” showing the need for decisive actions that address the group’s policy preferences.
- Latino voter registration is growing fast in swing states, driven by younger Latinos. This trend illustrates the reshaping of the electorate as younger Latinos enter the voter rolls, many of whom may be the children of undocumented immigrants. This trend is visible in most swing states.
- Key number: Two million. In swing states alone, more than 2 million U.S. citizens live with an undocumented immigrant and more than 350,000 have an undocumented spouse.