New York: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two other legislators re-introduced a bill in the House on Friday that put immigrants who cleared debris after the September 11 attacks on the fast track to legal immigration status in the United States.
The 9/11 Immigrant Worker Freedom Act is a modified version of a bill that was introduced by former New York Representative Joseph Crowley in 2017 that did not go ahead in the House. Ocasio-Cortez defeated Crowley in the 2018 Democratic primary, winning the seat representing the Bronx and parts of Queens.
Immigrants in New York, many of whom are Spanish-speaking sanitation workers, have long asked to obtain legal immigration status in the US as compensation for their work and subsequent health problems.
Hired informally by cleaning companies, workers cleaned debris, asbestos and dust inside Manhattan’s low-rise buildings for months without adequate protective gear.
But 20 years after 9/11, only dozens are participating in the protests and making requests, while others have given up on that fight.
Rep. Adriano Espilat and Rep. Grace Meng, both from New York, are principal co-sponsors of the bill.
By stepping up for our nation at a critical moment, these individuals sacrificed their mental, emotional and physical health, Ocasio-Cortez, Espaillat and Meng said in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
Now the prospects for passage of the bill, even with Congress’s democratic control, are highly uncertain, as the parties are deeply divided over most immigration laws. Advocates were dealt a blow when a Senate lawmaker told Democrats last month that his proposal to help millions of immigrants live in America permanently could not be included in President Joe Biden’s social spending and environmental policy bill. .
In their submitted testimony, Ocasio-Cortez, Espaillat and Meng said an estimated 2,000 individuals may be eligible for adjustment of status under their law. He said that if enacted, Safai Karamcharis would be able to apply for legal status and get work authorization during the pendency of the application.
The bill differs from Crowley in that, among other things, it eliminates the requirement that individuals must pay their taxes in order to apply and it expands eligibility to those who require removal when benefits are available. going through the proceedings.
Peruvian sweeper Franklin Anchahua said she was delighted to hear about the reintroduction.
“I have some hope that maybe I will be able to get legal status,” he said. I hope something good comes out of it for us because we deserve it.
Anchahua cleared thick layers of dust from offices, apartments and even a chapel in lower Manhattan for weeks after the attacks. Since then, he said he has suffered from mental health problems, severe heartburn, asthma and acid reflux.
For the Bill to go ahead, the Judiciary Committee has to mark it and move it for consideration in the entire House.
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