Billboards urge creation of path to citizenship for immigrant workers

Immigration advocates are posting billboards around Long Island to put pressure on congressional leaders and advocate to create a path to citizenship for immigrant workers.

The signage, which read, "Immigrant essential workers take care of us. Now let’s take care of them. Citizenship Now!" were erected by the organization Make the Road New York, urging Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other congressional Democrats to include a path to citizenship and green cards in the budget reconciliation bill being debated by Congress.

The signs are posted in each of Long Island’s four congressional districts in Westbury, Brentwood, Central Islip, Glen Cove, Port Washington, Franklin Square, Carle Place, Manhasset, and North Valley Stream.

"Enough is enough. We’re tired of false promises and we want to make sure we have immigration relief in our communities," lead organizer Eilana Fernandez said.

Organizers unveiled a poster Thursday at a bus stop in front of the Brentwood Post Office where they called on local officials to give immigration status to essential workers.

The group is asking Schumer to add immigration policy to the Senate’s budget reconciliation package, which includes President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion measure to boost safety net, health and environmental programs.

Last month the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian recommended the infrastructure spending bill should not include an immigration component because it did not follow Senate rules.

Protesters have camped outside Schumer’s Brooklyn home and urged him to defy the parliamentarian to include immigration plans in the bills.

Senate Democrats have said they are still pursuing options to find a path for legal status for immigrant workers.

Angelo Roefaro, a spokesman for Schumer, said Thursday evening: "Immigration is a top priority for Senate Democrats in the budget reconciliation process, and we are working with the advocacy community to finalize our next steps. We will fight until we get immigration reform done."

Demonstrators read a letter from Daniela Garcia, a 19-year-old Suffolk County Community College student who said she has been stymied by immigration delays after President Donald Trump halted the DACA pathway to citizenship.

She said she was born in Mexico and came to the United States with her parents when she was 2. She applied to DACA when she was 15, but before her application could be processed it was derailed when the Trump administration moved to rescind the program.

"The federal government ripped away the chance for me to have a sense of safety in the only place I have ever called home," Garcia said. "I live with a stress inducing uncertainty because of my undocumented status. I have been denied countless school and employment opportunities because of my status, even though I meet every single other requirement … I live in a constant fear that one day, that my family will be ripped apart."

The posters feature Garcia and German Huaranga, a Suffolk County construction worker who came to Long Island from Peru 20 years ago to raise his family. He said his business and other immigrants were hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"To me, having a pathway to citizenship would allow me to live freely without the fear of being separated from my family and it would give me the opportunity to continue to help raise my grandchildren and watch them grow," he said.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.