19 SEPTEMBER 2021, WASHINGTON, DC – CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres issued the following statement after the Senate parliamentarian ruled against including a pathway to citizenship in the budget reconciliation package.
“This is just the beginning. We planned for this and our fight continues. The politics are behind us. More than 70 percent of Americans support immigration reform. We elected a Democrat majority in Congress, and they have pledged to deliver a path to citizenship. Now it’s up to us to make sure they deliver on that promise. The parliamentarian is a civil servant and we want to be respectful of the role that she has played. She serves at the pleasure of Democratic leadership. Her response was political, but we have more political power.
“The thing that I want to say to you at this moment is that we are still in this game, and we are not going to back down. We are going to come back to the table with the alternative plans that we have already discussed. We have Plans A through Z. The Dems have the power to deliver and they have committed to doing that. This is a movement moment and we must be committed to holding the line.
“How grateful I am of each of you. In the past couple days, months, years, we have gone through so much. And I want to say thank you for serving as champions that the country can get behind. We have come too far — we will not turn around. We will move forward with clarity in the next coming days.”
Rapid Response Rally & Jumbotron Launch
** On Monday, September 20, at 11 am, CASA members and spokespeople will be at Union Station for a rapid response rally. Members of the media can get reactions from immigrants who would benefit from the citizenship that CASA fights for. ** At the rapid response rally, CASA members will kickoff a jumbotron display that will sit outside of Union Station for five days. With support from the Green New Deal Network, CASA designed a video display to feature on the 12’ 7” by 21’ LED screen. Mounted to a truck, the jumbotron will greet members of Congress and thousands of visitors as they depart from this major transit hub. The more than 5,000 rally goers who are headed to the big Welcome Back Congress march on Tuesday will also pass the citizenship and climate justice display as they head to Benjamin Banneker Park that day.
