ATLANTA, GA – FWD.us Georgia State Immigration Manager Jaime Rangel issued the following statement today after joining Jennifer Zenteno, Raymond Partolan, Israel Arce Perez, and Cris Ramirez in meeting with President Biden in the Peach State to commemorate his first 100 days in office:

“I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to join other Georgians in welcoming President Biden to our state just one day after his Joint Address to Congress, where he underscored the urgent need to pass a long-overdue pathway to citizenship for millions of people like me, who came to this country as children. It was such a privilege to also be able to introduce him to my wife and young son.

“When I moved to the U.S. with my family, I was just six months old. Since then, I’ve been extremely blessed to have qualified for the DACA program, which allowed me to get an education, go to work, contribute to my community, and start a family of my own. While my family was able to stay together, millions of others have been ripped apart because of misguided and unjust immigration policies. Each day without permanent protections that only legislation can provide is another day families could be torn apart. We need reform to keep families together and provide a permanent pathway to citizenship for more than 352,000 undocumented immigrants in Georgia.

“I’m thankful that President Biden used his speech last night to recommit to his promise of working with Congress and leaders at both state and federal levels to put morality and civility back into our immigration system. In the meantime, we will not stop working here in Georgia to support immigrants, including undocumented individuals and their families, who are business owners, essential workers, neighbors, friends, coworkers, and leaders. Immigrants are woven into the fabric of our state, and I am glad that President Biden is standing by his promise to protect immigrants.”