In the immigration debate, why does citizenship matter?

That was the theme of a series of panels hosted by AFL-CIO at the headquarters today in Washington, D.C. The answers were varied, but took two main directions. The first answer is the concrete benefits that immigration provides, both to the immigrant and to the community they move to and work in. The second is the moral dimension that accompanies the efforts of people seeking work so they can improve the lives of themselves and their families, particularly in a current system that allows for them to be exploited.

Nearly 1,000 people rallied on Capitol Hill today urging Republican lawmakers not to deny millions of aspiring citizens an opportunity to achieve the American dream. The rally of immigrants, their families, young DREAMers, union members and other immigration reform advocates reminded lawmakers a majority of the public supports commonsense immigration reform with a road map to citizenship and expects Congress to find a solution. 

Today in several state capitals and Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., immigration advocates, working families, civil rights and faith activists will urge Republican House members to allow a vote on the recently passed Senate immigration reform bill that includes a road map to citizenship.

The U.S. Senate just voted 68–32 (with 14 Republicans joining all 54 Democrats) to approve immigration reform legislation that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says will move the nation “a big step closer” to building a commonsense immigration system that will allow millions of aspiring Americans to become citizens. 

Now it is up to the House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead by allowing a majority of House members to vote on a bill with a road map to citizenship.

UPDATE—In a 67-27 vote this evening the Senate moved closer to final passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill when senators voted to end debate on an amendment to the bill. The vote included 15 Republicans and all Democratic lawmakers.

The Senate is expected to hold a key vote today on an amended comprehensive immigration reform bill that maintains a road map to citizenship for aspiring Americans, but also contains changes Republicans demanded to move the legislation forward. We will bring you the results of that vote as soon as it occurs. A vote on final passage is expected this week.   

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement on the amended Senate bill:

A bill that creates a commonsense immigration process for America's 11 million aspiring citizens is in jeopardy because of Republican demands for poverty wages.

Key Republican senators in the "Gang of Eight", negotiating on the behalf of the business community, corporations and the extreme right-wing, rejected adding language to the bill that would ensure new W-visas would only be issued when employing foreign workers would not hurt wages and working conditions of workers already in the United States.

This language is already a longstanding law for temporary worker programs including the H-2B and other visa programs. The Chamber of Commerce in negotiations with the AFL-CIO already agreed to including this language.

Jennifer Angarita, national worker center coordinator at the AFL-CIO, sent the following message to working family activists:

I’m going to tell you something very personal: My father finally became a citizen of the United States after almost 30 years of waiting. 

My parents brought me to the United States when I was 13 months old to escape economic hardship and war in Colombia. I grew up in Dallas and my favorite foods were pizza, chocolate chip cookies and empanadas. My parents worked hard to put me through school, and I was proud to be the first person in my family to graduate from college.

Several hundred union, immigrant and community activists rallied in Seattle on Monday and called for comprehensive, commonsense immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for more than 11 million aspiring citizens.

The Seattle action was one of more than a dozen events that are the kickoff of the AFL-CIO’s immigration reform campaign. 

Putting the nation’s 11 million aspiring citizens on a path to citizenship is not—as many Republican House lawmakers have characterized—the “extreme” option for immigration reform, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro told a House Judiciary Committee hearing today.

Putting them on a path to citizenship, that’s the best option.

In the current debate over immigration reform in the United States, “some suggest that we take the easy road and 'split the difference' among proposals for reform from lawmakers—to choose political expediency and legalize immigrants without offering any chance for them to earn citizenship,” writes AFL-CIO Director of Immigration and Community Action Ana Avendaño, in a column in The Guardian today.

That's wrong. That's the road to an America of permanent second-class workers, and it's a violation of our basic values.