- 2 years ago
On Thursday, Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered remarks on keeping immigrant families together in Chicago.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning everyone.
00:23My name is Rae Wences Nakira.
00:25My pronouns are they, them, and I'm the first deputy for Mayor Johnson's Office of Immigrant,
00:29and Refugee Rights.
00:31We are here today to speak on President Biden's executive order announced on Tuesday, this
00:37week.
00:38President Biden's parole in place, which will establish a new process to consider case-by-case
00:43basis requests for certain non-citizen spouses and children of U.S. citizens who have lived
00:49in the U.S.
00:50And also, removing barriers for certain employment based on immigrant visas for illegible individuals.
00:57As a formerly undocumented immigrant, I know that this type of announcement is life-changing,
01:01and will be life-changing for over half a million people in this country.
01:08We know that this is a great step to ensure that there are more legal protections for
01:12undocumented immigrants and people in our communities, but we also know that there were
01:16many that were left out.
01:18I just want to mention that many of us live in mixed status families, so it's very important
01:23for us to continue fighting.
01:24And I want to commend Mayor Brandon Johnson for taking his leadership and his voice across
01:29the country, and making sure that we were one of the champions as a city of Chicago
01:34and in the state of Illinois to ensure that this was made possible.
01:39What this means for many people in our city will be tremendous.
01:44Many people will have access to this process, and will be able to have, again, those legal
01:51protections.
01:53But this is only one step.
01:55I want to, again, thank everyone who's here this morning, because this is also a victory
02:01for the community members that have rallied around this issue for many years.
02:06And today we celebrate, but we know that the fight must continue.
02:10And so I want to invite and welcome Mayor Brandon Johnson to the stage to share a few
02:17words, and thank you very much.
02:19We don't get a chance to see each other as often, Reyes, it's really good to see you.
02:29We work in the same building, but clearly we're both working hard.
02:32And good morning, buenos dias.
02:36Thank you all for joining us today.
02:38You know, last month, in collaboration with Cities for Action, the Resurrection Project,
02:44the American Business Immigration Coalition, I sent a letter signed by over 40 mayors encouraging
02:49President Biden to leverage his authority and provide relief to undocumented families.
02:55Today we are thrilled to celebrate the latest actions taken by the president to keep families
03:00together and give immigrants the chance to work and pursue their dreams in our country.
03:06That's our country.
03:07That's a good thing.
03:12This is the biggest immigration policy victory since the implementation of DACA.
03:18And for the spouses of U.S. citizens who have already been living here and contributing
03:22to the vibrancy of our communities for 10 or more years, they now have a pathway to
03:27stay together and to apply for legal residency.
03:31And for the DACA recipients who have earned their education here and want to continue
03:36to work here, President Biden has opened a pathway for them to get employed, to contribute
03:41their talents, and to ultimately strengthen our nation.
03:44I applaud the Biden administration for passing these two hugely impactful immigration policies,
03:51especially after two decades of congressional deadlock on immigration reform.
03:57This would not be possible without the hard work of strong advocates and those who actually
04:02love people.
04:04Community residents, elected officials, elected officials like my dear friend and sister,
04:10Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, and Congressman Chuy Garcia, who urged the federal government
04:15to provide this kind of relief.
04:17Now, as Chicago continues to welcome immigrants and asylum seekers, and we will continue to
04:21do that, we need greater pathways to residency and employment, like the generations of immigrants
04:28who came before them.
04:30Our newest arrivals are coming here to work, to live, and ultimately to experience freedom
04:35in a land of promise.
04:37They have the power to grow our economy and secure a better life for themselves and their
04:41families, and they have the ability to strengthen the fabric of all of our communities.
04:46They deserve the opportunity to do just that.
04:50And my administration is proud to follow in the footsteps of Mayor Harold Washington,
04:54who believed in unity and strongly encouraged and established Chicago as a true welcoming
05:00city.
05:01And whether people arrive here through the Great Migration, or Darien Gap, or Chicago
05:06welcomes all who want to contribute to our city and share in the prosperity of this city.
05:12The city continues to lead layers of collaboration and partnerships with community organizations,
05:17intergovernmental partners, mutual aid and advocacy groups, and stakeholders across the
05:22state of Illinois to welcome and support the new arrivals.
05:26We're hard at work to meet the immediate needs of these communities, and we are particularly
05:30focused on creating more shelter spaces for new arrivals.
05:34While we are grateful that these two policy actions from President Biden will certainly
05:39have impact on the work that we have to continue to do, we must continue to make sure that
05:45Congress is doing its part.
05:47We call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform and create real pathways
05:52to citizenship, and then to do it for the millions of people who have been disenfranchised,
05:59the hardworking people who are already living here and who are already fueling our economy.
06:04We cannot let the forces that are ultimately trying to divide us, we cannot let them win.
06:11So it is a fundamental right that we give everybody the opportunity to live here and
06:16to have full, complete status in this city.
06:22You know, other states may have forgotten about the true value of who we are as a nation,
06:26but I can tell you this, the city of Chicago will never forget its true values, and we
06:32will never compromise them.
06:37So with that, I look forward to our continued progress that we will do together, and thank
06:42you.
06:43And with that, I'm just going to go ahead and help us move along.
06:45I am grateful that we have a true champion in Congress, my dear friend and sister, Congresswoman
06:51Delia Ramirez.
06:54Buenos dias, good morning.
07:03Hope you had your coffee.
07:04I just had a couple sips now, so I feel a lot more awake, my eyes are beginning to open.
07:10But it doesn't matter if it's 7 a.m., 5 a.m., okay, maybe 5 a.m., but 8 a.m. we would be
07:17here and standing together because today is a truly historic day.
07:23For those of you that don't know, I am the only member of Congress in a mixed status
07:27family.
07:29When I go to Congress and I go to D.C. every single week, I am reminded of the work that
07:35needs to happen and has not happened there.
07:37I serve as vice ranking member of Homeland Security, and I sit in rooms with people who
07:44oftentimes completely dehumanize people like my family, people like the folks that are
07:51standing with me today.
07:53And I am reminded that it is important to have folks like us in places like the halls
07:58of Congress.
08:00We have to address the global crisis of displacement, and to do so, we truly need comprehensive
08:06immigration reform.
08:08I know that regardless if our families came here in 1904, 1984, or 2024, they contribute
08:19to the fabric of this country.
08:22And since coming to office, I have been advocating for executive and congressional action to
08:28protect our dreamers, to strengthen our asylum, and to provide relief for long-term undocumented
08:33immigrants across our nation.
08:36Yesterday's announcement marks a significant step forward because there's this assumption,
08:43if you marry a U.S. citizen, you automatically become a U.S. citizen.
08:48But let me say to you, that automatic does not exist.
08:53My husband and I have been married now four years, and we are still in the process.
08:59But for many people who came to this country and didn't come on a visa, and they came through
09:04our southern border, many of them have to go home and wait, in some cases, 10 years
09:13while they're going through their adjustment with their spouse.
09:16Now imagine you have a one-year-old child, and you are tired of living in the shadows,
09:22and you begin your process, and you are told you have to go to Mexico, you have to go back
09:26to Haiti, you have to go back to Guatemala, and you're not going to see your child for
09:32almost 10 years with no guarantee that you'll be able to come back.
09:38Well, President Biden's executive order announcement on Tuesday changes that.
09:46And it changes that for almost 500,000 people.
09:53Because families will not have to choose between separation and being able to live out of the
09:58shadows.
09:59It is going to make a significant impact, not just for that family, but we know for
10:04the fabric of our communities.
10:06And we're very grateful for that step forward.
10:09For DREAMers who didn't make it through that 2012 timeframe to be able to get DACA, if
10:17they went to school here, they will be able to get a professional visa.
10:22For some of them who've been here since the age of three months, seven years age, they
10:29will finally be able to work in this country with a professional visa once they apply.
10:35These two things are major steps.
10:38But I want to say to you, I don't forget a voice I heard yesterday, falto yo, falto yo.
10:48As you heard from Mayor Johnson, these are significant steps forward, but we still have
10:52more work to do.
10:54Because my Tio Chilano probably won't be able to get that adjustment status at this moment.
11:00Because Wesley Hernandez, my brother-in-law, he's a DREAMer married to a non-citizen.
11:06But the coalition that you see here, the mayor that you see here, we will continue to work
11:11endlessly to ensure that everyone who can get status, that deserves to have status,
11:19which we believe everyone seeking asylum in this country should be able to get work permits,
11:23gets that step forward.
11:24But I want to end by saying, Mayor Johnson, you have been steadfast in your commitment
11:32in making those calls to the administration with coalitions like the people that you see
11:38here.
11:39I know so because the last time I talked to the administration, right after my meeting
11:43with the president, I talked to them and said, I know, I know what you want.
11:48You want expedited work permits for all.
11:51Your mayor doesn't stop talking about it.
11:53And I'm glad he said that.
11:56His tone may have been, I know, I know, a bit annoyed, but it's okay if we annoy people.
12:00And we're going to continue to do so because things like what happened on Tuesday doesn't
12:05happen when you're in the field of comfort.
12:09People must be uncomfortable when we're fighting for social justice for all of us.
12:19So today, Tuesday is a big day.
12:22And over the next few weeks, we'll get the final rule on how to apply who qualifies.
12:28But I want to thank every single organization here, the Resurrection Project.
12:33I want to thank the Latino Policy Forum.
12:35I want to thank my elected officials that are here.
12:38I want to thank the city.
12:39Because without you, without the state of Illinois, that executive order, those executive
12:46announcements would not have happened.
12:49And when we organize together is when we win for all of us.
12:53Thank you.
12:54With that, I would like to introduce to you Chair Ayala Bermejo.
13:00Did I say it right?
13:04I got Ayala right.
13:05You got it.
13:06Thank you.
13:07Always perfect.
13:08Karina Ayala Bermejo, president and CEO of Instituto de Progreso Latino, also the honor
13:13of serving as chair of the New Americans Advisory Council.
13:16We have the privilege of being able to advise the mayor's office and the Immigrant Office
13:22of Refugee Rights.
13:24We do so to provide input so that we are improving the services to our immigrant community, at
13:30the same time engaging our very diverse immigrant and refugee community.
13:37What this day means to us is monumentous.
13:39It means that the president of the United States and the administration understands
13:44not only the value, but the vibrant diversity of an immigrant community.
13:50It means that the state leadership, the city leadership, and our fearless leader, the mayor,
13:55along with all of our friends in Congress, especially our champion, our champion and
14:02a trailblazer, Congresswoman Ramirez, Congressman Garcia.
14:09It means that when we work together as a collective, we win.
14:16Now what I can tell you is that on the heels of the 12th anniversary of DACA, this is a
14:21big deal.
14:23What I can say is that folks like Simone, who full ride to Harvard, now has a future
14:29to work.
14:30What I can say that as an undocumented immigrant as a kid myself, that won the policy lottery
14:39when our family was able to adjust because of citizenship that my brother had.
14:44What this means is they too will have a pathway, like I did, to advance and really commit to
14:54improving the lives of other immigrants.
14:56I am forever grateful for that opportunity.
14:59That opportunity allowed my family to change the trajectory of our life, and every second
15:03of my life I am reminded of that huge debt of society that I owe.
15:08And I do it through service.
15:10I do it so that everyone who is like me can reach their full potential, and they can do
15:16that now.
15:17It is without a doubt a victory, but it is a victory that is incomplete without addressing
15:24the other 11 million undocumented individuals.
15:27It is absolutely a step in the right direction.
15:29It is a step that shows that our advocates, that our business leaders, that our faith-based
15:36leaders, and labor have a strong voice that the President of the United States is listening
15:41to again because of our fearless leadership of our mayor.
15:45Honored to be here.
15:46Let's keep it going.
15:48Thank you.
15:50And another important voice, Giselle Rodriguez.
15:59Hello everyone.
16:00My name is Giselle Rodriguez, and I am an undocumented dreamer, and I am a member of
16:03a mixed status family.
16:05My parents brought me to this country in 2009.
16:09This state excluded me from DACA.
16:11Despite my status, I have been a model citizen following all of the rules.
16:15I graduated high school in 2015.
16:17I received my bachelor's from Northeastern Illinois University in 2019, and in 2020 during
16:22the pandemic, I received my master's from the University of Chicago.
16:26I am now married to a U.S. citizen, I have two children, expecting my third, and I remain
16:30undocumented.
16:32Aside from being a wife and a mother, I founded a nonprofit organization called Illinois Workers
16:37in Action, where I'm able to give back to my community.
16:40This work is very demanding, yet rewarding.
16:43Today I have renewed hope that there may now be a pathway for me, a path to a work permit
16:48and a path to adjust my status.
16:50Today there is renewed hope in hundreds of thousands of families like mine, and there
16:54is renewed hope for dreamers who go to college without knowing what they can do with their
17:01degrees.
17:03We have so much more work to do to make sure that these programs are successful, and to
17:07make sure we continue to expand opportunities for more immigrants.
17:10Thank you.
17:11Now I'd like to introduce Erick Rendon.
17:14Buenos dias.
17:17Voy a empezar en español.
17:20Estamos aquí porque el martes el presidente Biden anunció las actualizaciones de política
17:28para la comunidad inmigrante indocumentada desde que se anunció DACA hace 12 años.
17:33Este anuncio le va a dar esperanza a más de 500,000 familias indocumentadas, 500,000
17:41familias, quienes algunas de sus familiares son indocumentados, y va a abrir oportunidades
17:47para los dreamers que van a poder aplicar para visas de trabajo.
17:52Esto significa que ayer nosotros, esta coalición, demostró que el presidente sí tiene el poder
17:58de otorgar permisos de trabajo, y sí tiene el poder y lo puede usar.
18:03Y yo estoy eternamente agradecida porque aquí en Illinois tenemos campeones.
18:09Nuestro alcalde fue el primer alcalde de pedirle al presidente que otorgue permisos de trabajo
18:16para los inmigrantes indocumentados que tienen décadas en esta ciudad.
18:20Gracias.
18:24Y mi congresista, Delia Ramirez, fue la primera congresista en que le escribió una carta
18:30al presidente urgiendo lo mismo.
18:34Aquí en Illinois empezó, y no nos vamos a parar porque sabemos que van a seguir existiendo
18:43millones de inmigrantes indocumentados que no van a poder calificar, y nuestro compromiso
18:49es seguir trabajando y seguir abogando hasta que todos tengamos esa misma oportunidad.
18:54So, good morning. My name is Ere. I'm the vice president of immigrant justice at the Resurrection Project.
18:59And we're here today because on Tuesday, President Biden announced the most significant policy update
19:07since 12 years ago when DACA was announced.
19:11President Biden restored hope to 500,000 families like Giselle's family, and he's opening up
19:17opportunities for dreamers who find themselves with little or no or few work options after
19:23they graduate from college. That means that on Tuesday, we, this coalition and a larger
19:30coalition across the country, was able to prove that the president does have authority
19:35to update existing policy to make sure that the long-term undocumented community is also
19:42able to apply for protections and work authorization. And I am delighted that we are in Illinois
19:48and that we are in Chicago and that we have champions because our mayor was the first
19:52mayor to call on President Biden to use his executive authority to grant work permits
19:57for undocumented immigrants. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much, Mayor Dunn.
20:02And also, our congresswoman, my congresswoman, Delia Ramirez, was the first member of Congress
20:12to write to the president urging him to use his authority to expand work permits through
20:18executive action. I remember I was pulling weeds when I got a call saying that the congresswoman
20:25had already sent the letter and we were going to start doing media. And so thank you so
20:30much, Congresswoman, for your dedication and for always being an advocate for our communities.
20:37And we will not stop because this continues to leave a lot of families out, but what we
20:42did this week is we showed that we have the power, we showed the president has the power,
20:47and we're going to continue until every single immigrant one day is able to apply for work
20:52authorization. Thank you.
21:00Okay, so the mayor...
21:06Mr. Mayor, is there an idea as to how many families in Chicago...
21:12Do we have that number for Chicago? I know it's 500,000 across the country. It's significant.
21:18You know, I don't have an exact number, but when we have this conversation with the White
21:24House, particularly President Biden's senior advisor, it is very clear that the city of
21:31Chicago and really surrounding counties, Cook County in particular, are well positioned
21:37to benefit economically because of the freedom, quite frankly, that will come as a result
21:45of these two executive orders. So no specific number, but it is significant. Thank you.
21:53My question is off topic. Can we do one topic first?
21:58Mayor, is your administration considering reversing or revising your emissions policy
22:03for migrant families and shelters at all, or is this current iteration the final one?
22:07What my administration is committed to doing is making sure that families who are seeking
22:11asylum in the city of Chicago have a place where they can seek refuge. The ultimate goal
22:16is for resettlement. It's temporary shelter. It's temporary shelter. The ultimate goal
22:24is resettlement. That's why you see the full force of government, the philanthropic community,
22:28the business community, the faith community. We're working hard to make sure that families
22:31are not staying in a cot, in a warehouse. Listen, the challenge is still what it is.
22:38You have Trumpsters who are still trying to block the full expression for families
22:46who have already contributed to our society. That's the focus here. The focus has to be
22:52on real substantive immigration reform policy. These are symptoms to a system that is broken.
22:58That's why we're grateful that we have a full, broad coalition that thinks bigger
23:03than just some small, small, small system. Thank you.
23:07Thank you, Alice.
23:12All right. We'll take the one-off topic. Does it have anything to do with how good I look this morning?
23:17Okay. All right. All right.
23:22Oh, wow. Dang. All right. All right. Hold on a second. All right. Here we go.
23:28Thanks for looking. At least he didn't say anything about my hair.
23:32Okay. All right. Let's refocus.
23:37So I know you're speaking about the Emergency Victims Fund and expanding that a little later on here this morning.
23:43But I wanted to ask a question about violence. Of course, we had a violent holiday weekend.
23:50We had a 7-year-old little boy who was killed. We've had two shootings, one of them deadly,
23:55at Amir Chicago beaches this week. I understand the statistics that shootings are down,
24:01homicides are down, but there's also the perception of safety, too,
24:05which hasn't equaled with the actual numbers and statistics.
24:12What are you doing to try and improve the perception of safety in the city?
24:16Well, look, first of all, thank you for that question.
24:19And, look, the violence in the city of Chicago that has been a pervasive problem in this city for a very long time
24:29and the grief and the torment and the trauma that is caused by some individuals
24:37who are committed to invoking their terror and trauma on the people of Chicago has been unbearable.
24:46So the city continues to grieve, quite frankly, and I've said this repeatedly in a very personal way.
24:51Families who just want to make sure that their child can go out and ride their bikes,
24:55play outside without fear of being harmed, that's a real challenge that we have in Chicago.
25:01It's one that I've experienced, my wife and I.
25:04And as far as what our approach is, it's still a two-pronged approach.
25:08Look, there are roughly 35 beats where violence is most pervasive.
25:13And individuals who are causing chaos in this city will be held accountable.
25:18It's just that simple.
25:19We're not going to tolerate it.
25:21We never have.
25:23We've been especially focused on the neighborhoods in the beats in particular where violence has been most pervasive.
25:29We will continue to double down on our strategy to make sure that there's not just a presence of enforcement
25:36but a presence of engagement.
25:38So we still are committed to our investments in building homes, creating mental health support services,
25:47and opening up facilities to do that, hiring our young people.
25:50And as you said, yes, 17% reduction in homicides.
25:54Shootings are down.
25:55But one murder, one homicide, one shooting is still one too many.
26:01I am grateful that our police superintendent, along with our business community, the philanthropic community,
26:10violence interrupters, we will be doubling down on our efforts focusing in the neighborhoods,
26:15in the blocks in particular, where families feel under siege, quite frankly.
26:19So it's a lot of work to be done, but we're very much committed to building a better, stronger, safer Chicago.
26:25Yeah, I mean, look, you know, I don't want to get too far off on like how do we influence the feelings of people.
26:35Right. Because these are these are feelings.
26:38And I get the frustration that people have felt, you know, and when you when you see the work that we're doing,
26:48what I can emphatically say and what I will continue to encourage the people of Chicago to do,
26:54that the mess that we got in, we didn't create.
27:02It didn't create it. We didn't raid the pensions.
27:05My administration didn't do that.
27:07My administration did not sell off public assets, shut down schools, shut down public housing.
27:14The city was running to the ground.
27:17And everybody knows that jacked up the finances, got bad deals.
27:22And so now we're left with the chaos in the mess that was created by other people.
27:29That's why I think it's significant that you can celebrate black liberation as well as immigration reform policies to give undocumented families the ability to experience liberation.
27:39You can do that in one week. That's how amazing the freaking city of Chicago is.
27:43So I know there are difficult moments that we all are experiencing, but today is a testament that if we continue to work together at every single level of government,
27:54it's going to take all of us in the community to continue to hold these individuals accountable.
27:58But to make sure that we're making critical investments in the people of Chicago, the homicides and shootings will continue to fall and investments will continue to grow.
28:06All right. Thank you all again.
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