In a recent interview, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez of Illinois expressed her strong opposition to H.R. 2, a Republican-backed bill on border control. Being a member of both the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the House Homeland Security Committee, she fiercely criticized the proposal for its significant potential to resurrect draconian policies.
Ramirez explained her understanding of H.R. 2's possible ramifications, such as cuts to the funding of any organization that assists a migrant under any program. This pertains to church charities and humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross. In her view, such legislature would lead to dire consequences, dealing a heavy blow to the immigrant community. She remarked that other potential outcomes could include mass deportations and reinstatement of family detentions.
She decries the move as a backstep from any efforts toward solving the immigration problem. According to her, the bill, rather than creating legal pathways for immigration, will only harden the process and potentially increase the numbers of those seeking illegal entry due to desperation.
The Congresswoman also expressed her dismay at the White House’s lack of interaction with the Hispanic Caucus during the bill's discussion with Senate Republicans. She believes that the decisions, which will bear major impact on community demographics, have been made without representation from the people that understand immigrant issues the most.
Twitter Post On Congresswoman Ramirez Rejects H.R. 2 Republican Border Bill Proposals
While recognizing the potential political fallout from disagreeing with portions of her party, Congresswoman Ramirez stresses that choosing to break campaign promises in order to secure a deal does more harm than good. Specifically, she referenced President Biden's campaign vow to remedy immigration problems and uphold the country's longstanding tradition of asylum rights.
Addressing the well-documented controversy surrounding Teresa Haley's recent comments, Ramirez criticized such divisive language, asserting that it only serves to keep community factions at odds. Instead, she argues for a unified approach to help disadvantaged communities, believing that the liberation of one group cannot be disentangled from another. She concludes by underlining the need to cease viewing it as a zero-sum game but as a collective challenge that calls for a unified response.
Congresswoman Ramirez urges the administration to ignore any attempt to sidetrack the issue and focus on providing a real solution to the ongoing immigration crisis, based on their expert recommendations.
