Latino Rebels DC

Senate Democrats introduced a bill on Wednesday that would provide a simple, sturdy pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have waited decades for relief, alongside millions of documented immigrants languishing in backlogs.

Forty-five House Democrats sent a letter Friday to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting the Justice Department look into a “political stunt” by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), after DeSantis took credit for sending 48 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard last week.

After Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday, Congress returned to Capitol Hill on Monday to questions from Latino Rebels about how officials will respond to the crisis in the U.S. colony that has left vast swaths of the island without power or running water.

Key to Fetterman’s campaign strategy are Latino voters. Over a million Latinos live in Pennsylvania, including the candidate’s wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, a formerly undocumented Brazilian immigrant born in Rio de Janeiro who moved to New York City as a child.

The White House debuted a new voice in a new language on Wednesday, giving the honor of beginning Hispanic Heritage Month to Luisana Pérez Fernández, a senior press aide to President Joe Biden, who delivered the press briefing to the White House press in Spanish.

While dozens of immigrant relief bills, amendments, and proposals have been introduced during the current Congress, none are likely to pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by President Joe Biden, sources on Capitol Hill tell Latino Rebels.

Latino Rebels asked senators this week about last Sunday’s constitutional referendum in Chile, in which a new constitution backed by the country’s young leftist president was rejected in a mandatory vote by a 24-point margin.

Documented dreamers who age out of their immigration status, often at 21 years old, face a difficult choice of self-deporting back to the country where they were born or staying in the United States undocumented.

The Senate returned from August recess this week to a full schedule of judicial confirmations, a priority for both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL).

The administration is canceling up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, though some see ways to make the policy more equitable for borrowers of color.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began a bilingual messaging effort last week to defeat venture capitalist and Republican senatorial candidate Blake Masters in Arizona.

The legislative clock is running out on the Puerto Rico Status Act, and according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), votes have yet to be counted due to what he says are “outside interests” delaying progress on the bill.

Fallout has begun over the decision by six Democratic senators to vote for a failed messaging amendment to preserve Title 42 restrictions on immigration, with Salvadoran-born state Rep. Maria Perez posting a video to express her indignation over Sen. Hassan’s vote in favor of the amendment.

Shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday, an anti-immigrant amendment by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) was rejected by a 50-50 vote. Lankford’s amendment called for the use of Obamacare money to fund Title 42, the Trump-era policy that bars immigrants from entering the United States based on public health concerns. 

After voters in Kansas, one of the most conservative states in the country, rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would have allowed state lawmakers to ban abortion, Latino Rebels asked senators if the issue of abortion rights could cost Republicans seats in November’s midterm elections.

“Mr. Cuffari has lost his credibility,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) in a floor speech Tuesday, after the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol uncovered evidence linking Cuffari to missing text messages by Secret Service agents on the day of the insurrection.

The American Families United Act would help keep mixed-status families together, while the Veterans Service Recognition Act would fast-track citizenship for immigrants who serve in the U.S. military and help bring home veterans who have been deported.

Rep. Grijalva, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico, says the sudden increase in lobbying against the Puerto Rico Status Act is not about process but instead about maintaining the island’s current colonial status.

“I’ve never felt safe here,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Latino Rebels last week after being sexually harassed on the Capitol steps by a right-wing media figure. Speaker Pelosi tells Rebels that the House Sargeant at Arms is responsible for signing off on armed security details for members receiving death threats.

Climate activists are planning to disrupt the annual Congressional Baseball Game on Thursday afternoon. “It is unacceptable for politicians to literally play games while the planet burns,” one organizer told Latino Rebels.

A controversial new campaign by popular immigrant rights organizer Carlos Eduardo Espina is calling on Latinos not to vote in November’s midterm elections unless President Joe Biden and the Democrats pass long-promised immigration reform.