Political Quotes

“Americans owe a great debt of gratitude to the healthcare heroes on the frontlines of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, I would like to spend a few minutes talking about one special group of healthcare workers: immigrants. Consider this: 1 in 6 healthcare and social service workers--3.1 million out of 18.7 million--are immigrants. These immigrants are playing a critical role in the battle against the pandemic, yet our broken immigration system does not allow many of them to fulfill their dreams of becoming part of America's future. I have come to the floor today to tell a story of one of our immigrant health heroes, and I will continue to highlight these stories in the coming weeks. I am also inviting my colleagues from across the Nation to come tell their own stories on social media or on the floor with #ImmigrantHealthHeroes, shown on this chart. Thousands of immigrant health workers are suffering because of a serious problem in our immigration system: It is the green card backlog. This backlog puts them and their families at risk of losing their immigration status, and it hinders their ability to participate in the fight against COVID-19. Under our current laws, there are not nearly enough immigrant visas, also known as green cards, available each year. As a result, immigrants are struck in crippling backlogs not just for years but for decades. Close to 5 million future Americans are in line waiting for green cards.…”