For numerous families across the country, seasonal festivities will be stark reminders of another year of holidays without relatives who are stuck in green card backlogs in their home countries, waiting for the chance to come to the U.S.
Rev. Noel Andersen, an immigration organizer for the United Church of Christ, was among more than 200 faith leaders from across the U.S. who signed a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to take action to start reuniting immigrant families awaiting visas in their homelands as part of a family reunification effort by Value Our Families, a nationwide immigration coalition.
“We have a lot of community members in our congregation that only have a couple of their family members living here in the U.S. and a lot of them are petitioning for [relatives] and waiting and waiting, for years on end,” said Andersen in an interview with the San Fernando Sun/el Sol. “That, of course, is hard on the families, and we see that firsthand. [When] families are reunited we definitely see it as a broad public benefit, as a benefit to our communities.”
As part of its Hearts@Home campaign, Value Our Families will be holding a pro-family immigration rally in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 15. In addition, they are collecting signatures in support of reuniting immigrant families by expediting visa backlogs via a Change.org petition.
“It might seem like common sense, but families belong together,” said Martin Kim, director of immigration advocacy for Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a D.C.-based nonprofit.
“There are a host of benefits to families remaining together,” Kim told the San Fernando Sun/el Sol. “Family provides a kind of social and emotional support. Immigration is difficult as it is – you’re leaving your home country [and] having your family with you can really help ease some of the difficulties, and [contributes] to society.”
The Dec. 6 letter – signed by 233 members of the national Interfaith Immigration Coalition in collaboration with Value Our Families – urges the administration to enact measures within its existing authority to help reunite families.
“How much can the administration do? It can do a lot. Over the course of recent history, the Supreme Court has given significant leeway to the administration on immigration,” explained Andersen. “I think our role as advocates is not necessarily to define every single thing for the administration; that’s their job. But we do [believe] that clearing the backlog and recapturing the unused visas is something that they can definitely do that can have an immediate impact.”
Kim said the key requests outlined in the letter are two-fold. The first request asks them to reclaim unused green cards – estimated to total 220,000 due to processing delays, particularly during the previous administration. The second is to expand family reunification parole to relatives with approved visa applications in the backlogs, and to all countries (instead of limiting it to select nations), to allow relatives to come to the U.S. while they await final visa approval.
“What Congress intended for our system – the family-based immigration system and the employment-based system – is if there isn’t enough demand in one area, those visas should roll over to the other,” said Kim, noting that the intended rollover hasn’t been happening, leading to an accumulation of unused green cards that could benefit some families who have been separated for years. In addition, hundreds of thousands of family members already living in the U.S. could end up at risk of deportation because the visa backlogs affect their long-term immigration status.
“We see these actions as a kind of temporary measure, as a way to alleviate some of the pressures that the family-based immigration system is currently facing,” said Kim, adding that the reclaiming of unused green cards could benefit some undocumented individuals residing in the U.S. who are eligible to adjust their immigration status.
“It doesn’t solve all the problems – that would require legislation along the lines of the Reuniting Families Act. The visa backlogs right now are 4 million people,” he said. “Getting to the core of the problem would require congressional action. But, in the meantime, we do think that the administration could act now to start helping some of these families.”
The bottom line, said Andersen, is that strengthening family bonds strengthens communities.
“When we look at our sacred texts across the [different faith] traditions, loving our neighbor does mean family reunification, it does mean people being able to [be united],” he said. “So we can have stronger communities – and stronger families – families should be allowed to be together.”
For more information about Value Our Families, go to: www.valueourfamilies.org. For more information about the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, go to: www.interfaithimmigration.org.