WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement today ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety hearing on the “Essential Role of Immigrant Workers in America”:

“Today’s hearing underscores what we’ve known to be true for years, and what the COVID-19 pandemic has made even clearer – immigrants of all backgrounds are absolutely essential to the health, safety, and long-term success and strength of our entire country. We are deeply grateful to Senator Padilla for his leadership in highlighting the broad scope of vital roles that immigrants continue to play as we recover and rebuild from this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.

“Immigrants have been essential for years; their tireless work has only become more visible in the midst of the terror and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic. Whether as healthcare workers like doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists; as farmworkers who put food on our tables and keep our food supply secure; or as vaccine researchers who have delivered on the promise of science – approximately 23 million immigrants of all backgrounds, including 5 million undocumented people, have kept all of us safe and healthy throughout this extraordinary time.

“We can’t call millions of people ‘essential’ while devaluing their contributions and forcing them to live with the uncertainty that they could be separated from their families and ripped out of their communities. It’s well past time for Congress to pass a pathway to citizenship that would grant all 11 million undocumented people, including Dreamers and DACA recipients, TPS holders, farmworkers, and millions of others, the chance to earn citizenship. We urge members to pass legislation without further delay, until all families that have helped us survive the pandemic can stay safe and together.”