Mayor Jim Strickland of Memphis, Mayor John Cooper of Nashville, and Mayor Tim Kelly of Chattanooga joined mayors from 28 states in sending a letter to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for pathways to citizenship for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, essential workers, and their families via budget reconciliation.
The letter comes 10 days after a controversial decision by a Texas Judge that ruled DACA unlawful, possibly putting 13,000 immigrants and their families in Tennessee at risk. The letter, which has 84 signatures from mayors around the United States, asks Congress to pass permanent protection for immigrants.
“We are proud of our Tennessee mayors for sticking up for the rights and protections of all Tennesseans,” said Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrants and Refugees Rights Coalition (TIRRC). “DACA has always been vulnerable and it never should have come to this. We’ve been fighting for years and we will continue to organize to win permanent immigration relief for the thousands of Tennesseans who are undocumented. Congress and the Biden-Harris administration must meet this moment and deliver citizenship for our communities.”
TIRRC is a statewide immigrant and refugee-led collaboration whose mission is to empower immigrants and refugees throughout Tennessee.
