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.
Boris Hernandez, left, husband of newly elected Illinois Democratic congresswoman Delia Ramirez, 39, right, could face deportation along with hundreds of thousands of others if Congress does not act to pass DREAM Act legislation during its next session
Husband Boris Hernandez, left, was out campaigning for his wife, Delia Ramirez to be elected to Congress but he was unable to vote for her because he is not a U.S. citizen
Delia Ramirez, an incoming member of the US Congress, is calling for lawmakers to pass the DREAM Act during the next session which starts on Tuesday
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.
It includes Hernandez who came to the country as a young teenager.
If passed, the Act would allow ‘Dreamers,’ to apply for legal permanent resident status and eventually become eligible for citizenship.
Ramirez met Hernandez in October 2020 describing her relationship as ‘one of those pandemic loves.’
Throughout her childhood, Ramirez’s mother, now 61, seen left, would often remind her of the sacrifices she had made for her daughter’s future
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. She is pictured with her brother and parents
Hernandez and Ramirez tied the knot in 2020. He is a recipient of DACA after arriving in the U.S. as a young teen at 14
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.
Ramirez, who will be the first Latina elected to Congress from the Midwest, grew up in Chicago and was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 2018. She has always been deeply connected to the issue of immigration.
Ramirez is pictures, center, having been newly elected to Congress during the midterms
Delia Ramirez is pictured alongside former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
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.
Throughout her childhood, Ramirez’s mother would often remind her of the sacrifices she had made for her daughter’s future.
‘I nearly died so that you could be born. Now I have to fight to keep you alive,’ she would remind her.
She was forced to work ‘multiple low-wage jobs to give her children a fighting chance to escape poverty,’ Ramirez’s election profile reads.
Ramirez continues to speak about the constant fear and challenges faced by families like hers every day and has vowed to keep advocating for immigration reform, even in the face of such obstacles.
The DREAM Act would provide a potential pathway to citizenship for around 2 million undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children.
‘I didn’t have to shy away from the fact that I’m working class and my husband’s a DACA recipient, that I’m worried about how I’m going to pay for housing. That is the reality of so many people,’ she told CNN.
‘I want men and women, young and old, to see me and think, ‘That was me, my daughter.’ Or…’I’m an intern somewhere and I don’t feel seen. But if she could do it, so can I.”
Ramirez believes her personal connection to the issue gives her a unique perspective and helps her connect with voters. She is pictured with her husband, Boris Hernandez
Ramirez believes her personal connection to the issue gives her a unique perspective and helps her connect with voters
Ramirez’s pro-immigration stance has drawn criticism and accusations that she supports ‘open borders’, but she is keen to use such attacks as a source of strength and a unique position that allows her to understand the issues facing those who arrive in the country by unconventional means.
‘I am clear that anyone willing to risk dying, starving or even being raped in the long journey through desert, cold and tunnels is crossing because they feel like there is no other solution to their situation. Their migration is the only way they see themselves and loved ones surviving deep poverty and, in some cases, persecution,’ Ramirez says.
‘My mother wouldn’t have risked my life or hers had it not been the only option she saw for her unborn child to have a chance at a life and childhood better than hers.’
‘I am the daughter of a woman who at 61 has given so much to this country and is a minimum-wage worker that can’t afford health care, so she’s on Medicaid, and diabetic,’ Ramirez says.
‘I am the daughter of a man who spent 30 years working in an industrial bakery, a union-busting company, and the day he retired, he got a frozen pie. He didn’t get a retirement pension and he struggled with Medicare supplemental, covering the cost.’
Border patrol officers on the southern border of the United States recorded 233,740 illegal immigrants crossing over from Mexico in November- a 33 percent increase from 2021
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.
Desperate migrants huddled at bus stops and propped up makeshift tents in freezing temperatures in El Paso, after making their long and treacherous journeys to Texas.
When broken down, the data reveals significant surges of migrants from Nicaragua and Cuba which offset drops in Venezuelans at the border.
Cubans, who are leaving the island nation in their largest numbers in six decades, were stopped 34,675 times at the U.S. border with Mexico in November, up 21 percent from 28,848 times in October.
Large numbers of migrants continue to cross illegally into the United States with the Yuma, Arizona seeing a spike in numbers
Around 400 people are pictured at the Arizona/Mexico border with the surge in numbers attributed to the supposed lifting of title 42 which the Supreme Court has delayed until later this month
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
