Immigration isn’t just a policy issue for me; it’s personal. As the Afro-Latino child of an immigrant family, I’ve lived the story of the American Dream. And I’ve seen how our broken immigration system hurts real people: the farmworkers in our fields, the DREAMer students in our colleges, the nurses, engineers, and small business owners who are our neighbors. IL-17’s communities are living proof that America’s strength has always been rooted in immigration. From the dairy farms and produce markets to our tech firms and hospitals, immigrants are helping build our future. Yet what do they get in return? Decades-old laws that don’t meet our needs, constant fear of upheaval, and a political football game in Washington that never results in meaningful change. We deserve an immigration system that reflects our values, not our fears – one that treats people with dignity and commonsense. Enough with using immigrants as scapegoats. It’s time for solutions that uphold America’s legacy as a nation of immigrants and laws.

Here’s what I’ll lead on: 

• Protect DREAMers and give them a path to citizenship. Young people brought here as children, our friends, classmates, and coworkers are American in every way except on paper. It’s cruel and economically foolish to keep their lives in limbo. I will introduce or support comprehensive legislation that permanently shields DREAMers from deportation and provides a direct, earned path to citizenship. This means not just reinstating DACA protections, but codifying them into law so they can’t be stripped away by any president’s whims. DREAMers have grown up here, attended our schools, started careers, even served in our military. They deserve the stability and recognition of citizenship. 

• Fix legal immigration and reduce backlogs. Those trying to come here the “right way” face a system that is backlogged and decades out of date. Families are separated for years, and employers can’t hire the talent they need. I’ll work to modernize and streamline our legal immigration process: significantly increase processing capacity at USCIS (hire more staff, improve technology), recapture visas that went unused due to bureaucratic delays, and raise outdated visa caps for both family reunification and high-demand employment categories. No family should be stuck waiting 20 years to reunite with a parent or sibling because of quota backlogs. We need to align legal immigration pathways with today’s realities – and by smoothing the legal path, we’ll also reduce pressure on unauthorized routes. 

• Create an earned pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants. We have millions of immigrants who have lived here for years, built lives, paid taxes, and contributed to our communities, yet remain undocumented. Mass deportation is neither feasible nor humane. I support a rigorous but fair pathway to citizenship: applicants would pass background checks, pay a reasonable fee, show work history or community contributions, and then be able to earn legal status and eventually citizenship over a period of years. Bringing people out of the shadows will boost our economy (through more taxpaying workers and entrepreneurs) and uphold our values. 

• Manage the border smartly and humanely. We can have a secure border without sacrificing our values. I’ll advocate for smart border management: invest in modern technology and well-trained personnel to intercept illegal activity like drug smuggling, while also vastly improving our handling of asylum seekers and families. We must end policies that criminalize people fleeing violence as seeking asylum is a legal right. Instead of border chaos or cruelty, I propose significantly expanding our asylum processing capacity: hire more asylum officers and judges to review claims promptly, provide humane shelters and case management for families while cases are pending, and partner with nonprofits who can help. We must also end practices like family separation and inhumane detention conditions, policies which betray the very true values of our country. By investing in orderly processing and treating migrants fairly, we can secure the border and uphold both our laws and our principles.

• Protect immigrant workers from exploitation. From the corn fields to the restaurant kitchens, undocumented workers are often the backbone of entire industries yet their vulnerable status lets bad employers abuse them and undercut wages for everyone. I’ll fight to strengthen labor protections for immigrant workers. That means enforcing labor laws (wage, safety, overtime) regardless of a worker’s status; if you report unsafe conditions or wage theft, you should be protected from retaliation or deportation. I’ll support giving immigrants who blow the whistle on abusive employers temporary status or visas. We must punish the corporations that exploit immigrant labor, not the workers seeking a better life. By ending the shadow economy of underpaid labor, we’ll raise wages and improve conditions for all workers. Everyone deserves a fair wage and safe working conditions – no exceptions. 

This issue isn’t about “us vs. them” and rather about all of us. Immigrants are part of our American family. When we allow them to live and work freely, without fear, our communities and our economy thrive. I will never stop fighting for an immigration system rooted in dignity, fairness, and common sense – one that honors our history as a nation of immigrants and keeps the American Dream alive for generations to come.