The husband of newly-elected Illinois Democratic congresswoman Delia Ramirez, 39, could face deportation along with hundreds of thousands of others if Congress does not act to pass DREAM Act legislation during its next session.
Boris Hernandez, who married Ramirez during the pandemic, arrived in the US as a 14-year-old under a 2012 Obama-era policy known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).
It allowed certain immigrants who came to the US as children, also known as ‘Dreamers,’ to apply for protection from deportation and to receive a work permit.
Hernandez is one such DACA recipient and has lived in the US for most of his life but even though he is legally married to Ramirez, a US citizen, it still means together they are a ‘mixed-status family’ and he is still not a US citizen, nor can her vote for his own wife.
‘I’m going to be fighting to keep my husband here and I’m a member of Congress. …. What happens to the other 2 million undocumented immigrants that the DREAM Act would protect? What happens to his brother? What happens to my best friend from high school? What happens to all of them who have no pathway, who don’t have a citizen husband or wife or partner?’ Ramirez asks.
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) would provide a pathway to citizenship for around 2 million undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children.
If passed, the Act would allow ‘Dreamers,’ to apply for legal permanent resident status and eventually become eligible for citizenship.
In a press conference held by Ramirez in early December at the US Capitol, the congresswoman emphasized the personal significance of the issue for her and her family.
‘This is very personal for me. It is time – it is past time that we deliver on the promise that we have made to our Dreamers,’ she said.
‘I am the wife of a DACA recipient. I am the daughter of Guatemalan working immigrants. I know firsthand the challenges and constant fear our families live every single day,’ Ramirez told reporters. ‘We have to end this.’
‘It is time to deliver for our Dreamers. It is time for Boris Hernandez to finally have a pathway to citizenship.’
Ramirez has been very open about her husband’s status and often tells his story in speeches and chats with her constituents. Hernandez has even appeared standing by her side at campaign events.
Her mother endured a harrowing journey while pregnant with Delia as she crossed the Rio Grande with currents so strong she was almost swept away to her death.
‘I nearly died so that you could be born. Now I have to fight to keep you alive,’ she would remind her.
Border patrol officers on the southern border caught 233,740 illegal immigrants crossing over from Mexico last month.
The figure is the highest number of illegal border crossings ever recorded for November underscoring the chaos that exists even while the Title 42 pandemic border expulsion policy has been delayed.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the numbers quietly in a Christmas Eve data dump.
The Biden administration is under increasing pressure to solve the crisis, and has asked the Supreme Court to delay the end of Covid-era Title 42 – which makes it easier for the US to expel undocumented migrants – until after the holidays.
The Biden-Harris team is currently facing scrutiny over the chaos at the US-Mexico border as thousands of migrants are expected to try and seek asylum or sneak through.
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