By Jordan Schwartzberg
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The Baltimore City Council adopted a resolution Monday that urged President Biden and Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for many immigrants.
The resolution calls on Washington to provide a citizenship mechanism for essential workers, children who qualify, Dreamers and temporary protective status program participants and their spouses.
The resolution was sponsored by councilmembers Odette Ramos, D-District 14, and Zeke Cohen, D-District 1. Every councilmember voted yes to the resolution.
“Many of our immigrant essential workers were not able to take advantage of or qualify for the aid that was given to so many of us to deal with the pandemic,” Ramos said. “They’ve been working, they’ve been paying taxes, they are part of us and we welcome them to Baltimore and the U.S.”
If the legislation was implemented on a national scale, it would provide a big victory for immigrants and their families.
According to the White House website, Biden wants to “modernize America’s immigration system, welcome immigrants into our communities, reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees and tackle the root causes of irregular migration.”