Immigration

As the son of an immigrant, I know the unique promise America represents for families. I know how hard immigrants work, how much they believe in this country, and how much they're willing to give back.

I am deeply concerned that changes in enforcement priorities under the Trump administration may target law-abiding immigrants, waste resources, and unnecessarily break families apart. Instead of tearing families apart and building walls that divide us, we need to finally pass comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform.

Comprehensive immigration reform includes a visa system that meets the needs of our economy, a tough but fair path to earned citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in our country who are undocumented, and a plan that ensures security at our borders.

I’ve also been a leading proponent of the DREAM Act, which would provide an accountable pathway to legal status and citizenship to undocumented immigrants who arrived when they were children. Dreamers represent what’s best about our nation: hard work, motivation, and a willingness to work toward an education or serve this country in uniform.

Dreamers across the country have come out of the shadows because of the promise that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program represents, including more than 7,000 here in New Mexico. These are some of our brightest students and veterans. I am proud to have led a group of Democrats in introducing the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act to ensure that the information they provide the government is not used against them in enforcement.

Latest

  • Heinrich Denounces Trump Administration For Exploiting Pandemic To Deport Migrant Children Seeking Asylum In U.S.

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) issued the following statement following reports that the Trump administration is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to deport unaccompanied migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico Border who are seeking refuge in the U.S. The administration is ignoring laws that require the transfer of unaccompanied migrant children to the Office of Refugee and Resettlement, resulting in the deportation of thousands of migrant children. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Call On President Trump To Stop Threatening Dreamers’ Livelihoods, Establish Path To Citizenship

    WASHINGTON - Following the recent historic Supreme Court ruling rejecting President Donald Trump's repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich sent a letter to President Trump, insisting he end his crusade against immigrants and stop deporting Dreamers. The senators also sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling on him to immediately take up legislation to establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers, including nearly 6,000 Dreamers in New Mexico. Read More

  • Heinrich Statement On Supreme Court Ruling On DACA

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the Trump administration cannot move forward with its plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Read More

  • Heinrich Statement On Supreme Court Ruling On DACA

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the Trump administration cannot move forward with its plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Read More

  • Heinrich, Senate Democrats To DHS: Halt Transfer Of ICE Detainees, Increase Agency COVID-19 Testing

    WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) led 17 Senate Democrats in a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf, demanding that immediate steps be taken to halt the transfer of individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in an effort to help mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The lawmakers are asking ICE to suspend detainee movements that include transfers into the ICE system from the federal prison system or state and local law enforcement agencies. Read More

  • Heinrich, Rubio Statement On USCIS Resuming Naturalization Ceremonies

    WASHINGTON - Following a letter U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resuming naturalization ceremonies under the guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WASHINGTON (May 28, 2020) – Following a letter U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resuming naturalization ceremonies under the guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Senators Heinrich and Rubio sent a letter to USCIS last week calling on the agency to increase small in-person ceremonies and to implement alternative oath-taking methods that comply with public health guidance. "We are pleased USCIS heeded our call to safely resume naturalization ceremonies to allow eligible immigrants to become U.S. citizens," the lawmakers said. “Our immigrant communities have helped write the economic, social, and cultural story of America. We urge USCIS to continue working with all individuals faced with rescheduling such an important moment as they complete their journey to become citizens.” Read More

  • With citizenship ceremonies postponed, hundreds of thousands could miss chance to vote in November

    Hundreds of thousands of potential voters will be ineligible to cast ballots in November unless the Trump administration resumes citizenship ceremonies and clears a pandemic-related backlog of immigrants waiting to take the naturalization oath, according to rights groups and lawmakers from both parties. President Trump, who claims falsely that millions of immigrants vote illegally in U.S. elections, now has the ability to effectively deny a large number of foreign-born Americans from becoming legally eligible to register ahead of the next presidential election. Read More

  • Heinrich, Rubio Urge USCIS To Ensure Eligible Immigrants Are Able To Complete Citizenship Process

    WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) – both sons of U.S. immigrants, naturalized citizens – sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Acting Director Kenneth Cuccinelli, requesting that the agency increase small in-person ceremonies and seek out alternative methods for eligible immigrants with approved naturalization applications to safely participate in U.S. Citizenship Oath of Allegiance Ceremonies. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Push to Ensure Detainees at ICE Detention Centers Are Guaranteed Access to Free Telephone Calls During COVID-19 Pandemic

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined 27 senators in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), urging the Trump administration to ensure that all ICE detention centers implement the agency's recent commitment to provide 520 free phone call minutes per month for each person in detention during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The letter also calls on DHS to guarantee that any telephonic or remote communication with attorneys remains confidential and unsupervised by detention center staff. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Urge Release Of Detained Children Amid COVID-19 Crisis

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, along with 48 of their congressional colleagues, have sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf urging the release of detained children amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the number of children in HHS custody infected with COVID-19 continues to increase, the lawmakers stress the need to protect the health and safety of children in U.S. custody. Read More