WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, FWD.us launched a new national ad as part of its seven-figure national ad campaign in D.C. and key states, including Georgia, amid a massive legislative push to pass immigration relief as part of the reconciliation package moving through Congress. The ad, “Tired Of Waiting,” features Jaime Rangel, a DACA recipient who came to the U.S. when he was just six months old, grew up in Dalton, and is father to a U.S. citizen son. Today, Jaime is the FWD.us Georgia State Immigration Manager, but continues to live in fear and uncertainty of his future in the country he has called home for the last three decades.
Jaime is among nearly 20,000 young Georgians who came to the United States as children but have no way of adjusting their legal status. Without urgent congressional action, Dreamers like Jaime could be deported to countries many have no memory of and separated from their homes, places of work, and families.
In the ad, Jaime speaks to the urgent need for Congress to provide immigration relief through avenues such as reconciliation to provide certainty to Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants like him.
“I have spent nearly my entire life in Georgia. It’s all I know, remember, and love. I have worked hard to build a life, family, and career in Georgia, but all that I’ve built could be fleeting if Congress fails to urgently act to provide Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants like me with much-needed transformation immigration relief,” said Jaime Rangel. “Congress has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enact reform via reconciliation and I thank and encourage our Georgia congressional leaders to continue fighting to protect Dreamers like me. I want to continue advocating for immigrants in Georgia. I want to be there for my son and fiancé. I want to continue contributing to this amazing state. But, in order for this to be a reality, we need congressional action now.”
The ad will appear on cable, broadcast and digital platforms nationwide. This latest ad comes as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has temporarily protected hundreds of thousands of Dreamers from deportation since 2012, remains temporary, limited, and continues to face judicial and legislative roadblocks. This week, immigration advocates are also holding a phone bank to encourage Senators Warnock and Ossoff to provide immigration relief via reconciliation. Participants in the November 4 phone bank include the Latino Community Fund, Georgia Familia Unidas, Freedom University, Corners Outreach, Georgia State Lambda Theta Phi, the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, Coaliciones de líderes Latino, and HoPe (Hispanic Organization Promoting Education).
