LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto urged the Biden administration Wednesday to take immediate action to protect DACA recipients and individuals with Temporary Protected Status before the end of his term.
Speaking at Capitol Hill, Cortez Masto emphasized the importance of safeguarding immigrant families and their contributions to communities like Las Vegas, which relies heavily on immigrant workers in its service and tourism industries.
“This has been an ongoing effort for all of us here and were going to continue to be a voice for people who work alongside Americans to make this country what it is,” Cortez Masto said.
The press conference follows a letter from the Senate’s three Hispanic Democrats – Cortez Masto, Alex Padilla of California, and Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico. They urged Biden to designate, redesignate, and extend TPS for Ecuador, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.
The senators also called for an expedited DACA renewal process.
Jose Cabrera, a TPS holder from El Salvador, shared his story at the conference Wednesday.
“I came to ask President Biden to extend my permission and ask more for more time for all people who have TPS so that we can live peacefully in this country,” Cabrera said in Spanish.
Cortez Masto also stressed the need for comprehensive immigration reform while advocating for border security measures to combat drug, human and weapons trafficking along the southern border.
“There’s this idea that you can’t do one or the other we can do both and it is important to continue to push the next administration to understand that,” said Cortez Masto. “And stop playing politics with people’s lives.”
TPS for El Salvador is set to expire in March.
President-elect Donald Trump previously attempted to dismantle the DACA program during his first term, though the Supreme Court blocked his efforts.
On Sunday, Trump expressed a more sympathetic stance toward Dreamers, telling Meet the Press that he plans to work with the Democrats on a plan to protect them from deportation.
However, in October before the election, he stated he would revoke the protections granted to people from Haiti.
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