In response to President Biden’s State of the Union address, ICIRR’s executive director Lawrence Benito released the following statement:

Last night in the State of the Union address, President Biden followed up his recent overtures to Trump for support on immigration legislation by calling on Congress to pass the Senate’s harmful enforcement bill and by casually demeaning and dehumanizing immigrants as “illegals” —again turning his back on a core constituency that helped elect him in 2020. This continues a sharp rightward-shift from the last presidential election when then-candidate Biden ran on a platform that included a pathway to legalization for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants, an end to family separation, and ending harsh enforcement practices.

The President’s disappointing remarks once again illustrate how both parties are eager to punch down on our families to score political points. Immigrant communities have time and time again  demonstrated their ability to get out and support those who will stand up for our families, but at this moment neither presidential candidate seems eager to win our support with anything beyond rehashing promises that have long since been broken.

ICIRR’s commitment, as always, is to lift up the dignity of all people, to reject the hateful rhetoric of politicians who treat our community members as political pawns, and to continue building power at the local, state and national levels to ensure safety and opportunity for all, both long-time residents and new arrivals.