Why We Celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month

“Immigration is part of the DNA of this great nation. It’s a source of our strength and something we all can take pride in.” —Katherine Vargas, White House Director of Hispanic Media (2015)

Since 2014, June is #ImmigrantHeritageMonth in the U.S. Whether you immigrated or your great-great-grandparents did, it is a time to reflect on the value immigrants have contributed to the country and challenge the current discourse against immigration.

In a timely manner, the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 on Tuesday, June 4. As soon as the Act reached the majority vote, crowds started cheering “¡Sí Se Puede!” in the House. This bill cancels and prohibits “removal proceedings against certain aliens who entered the United States as minors and grant such aliens conditional permanent residence status for 10 years.” Read more about ithere.

Meanwhile, votes in the Republican-majority Senate are not as favorable to immigrants. Last week, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations unanimously and bipartisanly approved the VERDAD Law—acronym for Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development Act. In its first version, Menéndez proposed to include a chapter dedicated to resolving the migratory situation of the Venezuelans who had been displaced toward the United States because of the crisis, and are now undocumented or in a vulnerable migratory situation, by extending a Temporary Protective Status (TPS) to Venezuelans.

However, such provisions did not receive support from Republican Senators, who are still the majority in both the Upper House and the Committee on Foreign Relations. Therefore, Menéndez agreed to remove that content and instead present or propose it in a separate Law project only subscribed by Democratic Senators with the exception of support from one Republican, Senator Rubio.

We ask for a migratory status relief for Venezuelans in the U.S., especially during #ImmigrantHeritageMonth.

We will continue to work towards changing the stigma created around immigration. This month we will share stories and articles that highlight both the importance of an immigration policy that provides relief to the millions of undocumented immigrants and how these immigrants enrich the country. If you wish to share your immigrant heritage story with us, please email it to info@iqlatino.org.