![A nurse wearing red scrubs assists an elderly patient in a wheelchair lift a weight with their right arm.](https://www.momsrising.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Evergreen%20Immigration%20EM_0.jpg?itok=c2uIeT6_)
“My mother died a few months ago of cancer and we would have not made it as a family without the daily care from immigrant caregivers. This country needs immigrants from all walks of life and we are lucky to have them.”
– MomsRising member from Pennsylvania
Quick Signature: Tell Congress to support immigrant caregivers, and their communities, with permanent protections! *When you click, you’ll automatically sign on if we already have your information.
Despite the terrible things we hear that some members of Congress and others are saying about immigrants, we know the reality. Immigrants are our nation’s strength. And as National Caregivers Day approaches on February 16th, we want to use this opportunity to make sure members of Congress know how critical immigrant caregivers are in our communities! Across the country immigrants make up more than 18% of the nation's healthcare workers and 27% of direct care workforce - including home health aides, personal health aides, and nursing assistants. [1] [2]
"My mom was in and out of the nursing home for the last two years of her life. Her favorite Certified Nursing Assistant (and mine too) was Lidia, who was a Registered Nurse in Nigeria before she came here. Lidia had a way about her, and she could get my mom to go along with the program better than me sometimes.”
- MomsRising member from Indiana
→ Can we count on you to speak up for immigrant caregivers, and their communities in honor of National Caregivers Day? Sign on to let your members of Congress know you want permanent protections for immigrant families! *When you click, you’ll automatically sign on if we already have your information.
What's happening? For several weeks now Republicans have been using immigration as a bargaining chip by proposing extreme immigration and asylum policies that are cruel, ineffective, and out of touch with American families and ramping up anti-immigrant rhetoric. We need to remind our members of Congress of the critical role immigrants play in our communities and economy, such as doctors, nurses, home care workers, teachers, and childcare workers, and urge them to propose common-sense reform that improves the asylum and immigration system.
Dear Congress,
We urge you to support immigrant parents and families. Immigrants are critical to our communities and our nation. For example, our care infrastructure would crumble without the incredible work of immigrants, who make up more than 18% of the nation's healthcare workers, 18% of childcare workers, 27% of the direct care workforce, and 12% of the education workforce! Moms are so thankful for the countless contributions immigrants make to keep families and kids healthy, educated, and safe!
We need you to find a way forward and fix the broken immigration system, provide permanent protections, build a pathway to citizenship, expand work permit authorizations, improve access to healthcare and social programs, and fund agencies that will help reduce the processing backlogs in immigration.
We also urge you to defend the right to seek asylum at our border, treating all with dignity and respect, and unequivocally reject proposed legislation, or amendments to proposed legislation, that would endanger immigrant parents and children in any way or separate families.
Immigrants are our nation’s strength. Indeed, our economy, and particularly our care infrastructure, are struggling with labor shortages and the demographic challenges of our aging population. Immigrants are key to our nation’s continued economic and cultural vibrancy. We urge you to lift up the contributions of immigrants in our communities, workforce, and our history.
**Make sure to sign our letter now calling on Congress to protect immigrant parents and children! *When you click, you’ll automatically sign on if we already have your information.
Together we are a powerful voice for the wellbeing of immigrant children and parents.
- Claudia, Felicia, Tasmiha, Donna, Xochitl, Kristin and the whole MomsRising / MamásConPoder team
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.
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