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Heidi Stevens| Chicago Tribune

One Day At A Time, the practically perfect Netflix series that reprised Norman Lears 1975 sitcom, is no more.

Writer and producer Gloria Caldern Kellett tweeted the lousy news Tuesday night. Its officially over, she wrote. There will be no new @OneDayAtATime episodes. But there will always be 46 episodes that we got to make that live FOREVER. Thank you to this beautiful cast. Our dedicated crew. And to you, our loyal fans. We loved making this for you. Thank you for watching.

(Sob!)

The show, centered around the Cuban American Alvarez family living in Los Angeles, debuted on Netflix in 2017, where it ran for three seasons before being canceled. A truncated fourth season premiered in March on Pop TV, and news broke in late November that it was again looking for a new home after Pop TV canceled it.

I was late to the show. Im late to a lot of shows. My pre-pandemic life didnt include much TV. Now Im catching up on a lot of what I missed, and One Day at a Time has been, by far, my favorite find.

My 15-year-old daughter and I watched all 46 episodes together during this infernal pandemic and it has been as critical to our sanity and salvation as all the walking, biking, baking, meal-planning, meme-exchanging, brownie-eating and old-photo-scrolling weve also done. Probably more so, if Im being honest.

The show was smart. And hilarious. And sly. Rita Moreno, who played the grandmother, was perfection. Justina Machado played single mom Penelope with so much heart and grit and honesty I wanted to reach into my screen and hug her. There honestly wasnt a weak spot in the cast.

Those 46 episodes tackled patriotism, combat-induced post-traumatic stress disorder, gun control, immigration reform, gender fluidity, sexuality, homophobia, masturbation, virginity, sexual harassment, vaping, edibles, white fragility, the stigma around therapy, shifting notions of masculinity, dreams deferred and what defines a family beyond blood or marriage.

There were moments when the show transcended sitcom status with its deft, nervy handling of sensitive topics, particularly the wildly different ways those topics are perceived by different generations.

Season three, episode two was one example. Alex, Penelopes teenage son, had been posting some groping photos on his Finsta (fake Instagram). His mom and sister found out and decided it was a good time for a talk about consent. His grandmother decided it was a good time for a talk about swagger.

Every no is a yes in disguise, Lydia (Morenos character) tells her grandson, before launching into a story about Ta Mimi being blindfolded and led into a cornfield to be wooed by Tio Rico.

That is romance, Lydia says.

That is the plot of Taken 2, Penelope replies.

The episode wove in somber notes from there, with Penelope and her daughter, Elena, sharing their own experiences with harassment and assault. But none of it was ham-handed. Always, on every topic, you were left with a slightly more nuanced understanding of a given subject.

It really was impressive. And to watch it with a teenager, when time is heavy and school is remote and friendships are strained and lost rituals are piling up and nerves are shot, well, it was nothing short of a gift.

So long, One Day at a Time. I really will miss you.

Im so grateful for what you gave me these last few months side by side time with my daughter, an opening for tough conversations, so many laughs.

Stephen Tobolowsky, who played Dr. Leslie Berkowitz on the show, tweeted a farewell Tuesday night.

I learned a hard lesson a few years ago in New York: There is always a closing night. For the good shows, it transforms into a smile. For the bad shows it becomes comedy. For One Day at a Time it will be pride and amazement that something wonderful happened in its time.

And its time and timing was impeccable.

See the article here:
Thanks for the memories, One Day at a Time. You helped my daughter and me get through lockdown. - Worcester Telegram

President Donald Trump ran his first presidential campaign on the promise to overhaul U.S. immigration, and for the most part, he kept that promise. Month after month, from the very start of Trumps term, immigration policy changed rapidly, from the Zero Tolerance policy that separated children from their parents, to record low caps on the number of refugees accepted by the U.S. each year.

President-elect Joe Biden has promised to undo most if not all of President Trumps immigration reforms. Hes pledged, for instance, to immediately end the ban restricting foreigners from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and reinstate protections from deportation for the roughly 650,000 people who arrived in the U.S. illegally as minors, known as Dreamers.

But after four years of sweeping changes, making some changes could prove more complicated, and could come through executive orders, presidential proclamations or possibly get stuck in a divided Congress, experts say. For instance, the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), otherwise known as Remain in Mexico, which has kept an estimated more than 67,000 asylum seekers in Mexico while their cases are adjudicated in the U.S., could prove difficult to reverse if the Biden Administration hopes to avoid a surge in migration to the southern border.

And while Bidens campaign website promises to modernize Americas immigration system, immigration advocates and attorneys point out that the Obama-Biden Administration oversaw millions of deportations and an expansion of family detention, raising concerns about what the next four years will bring. Spokespeople from the Biden transition team and the Biden Campaign did not return TIMEs request for comment.

The Trump Administration made immigration its signature issue, says Tom Wong, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California San Diego. What well see from a Biden Administration within the first 100 days are those things that can be undone with the stroke of a pen [Immigration] advocates need to be clear-eyed that a Biden Administration does not automatically bring about comprehensive immigration reform.

Here is what Biden is promising, and what hell likely be able to deliver during his term.

Among the changes Biden has promised to make during the first 100 days of his Administration is reinstating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama-era executive action that Trump rescinded in 2017 which provides protection from deportation for an estimated 650,000 people who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children.

An estimated 56,000 people who have become eligible since Trump ended DACA would be able to submit applications if Biden reinstated the program, according to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a nonpartisan research organization. Biden has also promised to ensure that Dreamers are eligible for federal student aid, making higher education more accessible to those with limited financial options.

But without comprehensive immigration reform, which could overhaul and modernize the U.S. immigration system and create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, this population will continue to live in uncertainty about their future in the U.S. Though Biden has laid out a lengthy ambitious plan for immigration, a divided Congress could mean barriers to policy changes like comprehensive immigration reform, which includes, among other things, a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., including Dreamers.

Biden has also promised to rescind the so-called Muslim ban on his first day in office, putting an end to travel bans from 13 countries, many of which are home to Muslim-majority populations. Wong says ending the travel ban would not only be a change to U.S. policy, but would symbolize a change in the nations immigration priorities. The Muslim ban was one of the first executive actions that the Trump Administration took that really made clear its stated preferences not just to limit immigration, but to limit certain kinds of immigration, he says. It wasnt just about reducing overall numbers, it was about gaming the immigration system to allow a certain privileged few to enter, while excluding others.

Biden has also promised that on the first day of his presidency, he will appoint a task force to track down the parents of 545 children who have still not been found three years after Trumps Zero Tolerance Policy was enacted. (According NBC News, the number of children could be as high as 666). The task force may have their work cut out for them, as the Trump Administration never kept comprehensive contact information for the parents whose children were separated from them. For that reason, advocates and attorneys tell TIME, we may never actually know the total number of children who were separated from their parents under the policy.

The current estimate is that more than 5,500 were separated during Trumps Zero Tolerance policy, and during a pilot program in El Paso, Texas, before the policy was implemented. Additional children were separated after a June 2018 executive order ending the practice. Many of the parents for these children have been located, either in the U.S. or abroad, and have been reunited, but for the 545 children whose parents have yet to be located, it is unclear whether they have been reunited.

While experts acknowledge the challenge facing the task force, they welcome the effort. We certainly think that its a good idea to create a task force, says Christie Turner-Herbas, Director of Special Programs at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), a nonprofit aiding in the the family reunification process. We still feel like we havent gotten full and complete records from every different kind of government agency that might have information about the parents or the children, or other contact information Something like a task force could really assist with that effort.

Read more: The U.S. Separated Families Decades Ago, Too. With 545 Migrant Children Missing Their Parents, That Moment Holds a Key Lesson

Another immediate reversal Biden plans to make is in relation Trumps controversial border wall, which he promised during his 2016 campaign would be paid for by Mexico. That didnt happen, but in February 2019, Trump declared a national emergency, allowing his administration to redirect Department of Defense money into the walls construction. About 400 miles of border wall went up in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas during the Trump Administration, which includes repairs to already existing barriers.

There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my Administration, Biden told NPRs Lulu Garcia-Navarro during an August roundtable with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Biden has promised end the national emergency declaration, immediately ending wall construction and cutting the funding, but has said he would not knock down the wall that was constructed during the Trump Administration

Despite Bidens promises to end Trumps detrimental asylum policies, experts say undoing Trumps unprecedented asylum restrictions will be a balancing act. There are some steps the Biden Administration could take, for example, to end Trumps metering policy, that limits the amount of people who can make an initial claim for asylum per day. Biden could also end Trumps expulsions that have taken place since March 2020 as COVID-19 has spread across the U.S. and most of the world.

Read more: Migrants Stranded in Mexico Have 1 Year to File for Asylum. COVID-19 Is Making That Deadline Nearly Impossible

DHSs expulsion rule allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to immediately remove anyone who crosses the border without authorization to their last country of transit without traditional processing or a chance to have their claims heard in court because of the risks posed by COVID-19. Since the rule was adopted in March, U.S. Border Patrol has conducted more than 197,000 expulsions, according to CBP data.

But the new Administration will likely be cautious about quickly ending the so-called Remain in Mexico program, which stipulates asylum seekers who claim asylum in the U.S. after entering from Mexico must wait in Mexico while their cases are heard, without first developing a plan to prevent a surge in migration at the U.S./Mexico border.

Read more: Theyre Screaming for Help. See Drawings From Children Stuck in Mexico as They Seek U.S. Asylum

Though Bidens campaign pledge has been to reassert Americas commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees, there is evidence that migration flows to the U.S. can follow changes in U.S. immigration policy, according to MPI. For example, after Trump took office, there were record low flows of migration to the U.S. at first as people waited to see what Trump would do.

If and when the future Biden Administration changes these restrictive [asylum] policies, it will have to do so with great care and planning and in a way that balances humanitarian concerns while avoiding a rush on the border that could overwhelm resources, and result in a renewed sense throughout the country that the border is out of control, Jessica Bolter, an associate policy analyst at MPI, said during a Nov. 9 webinar.

The Biden Administration may also have to rethink guidance to immigration judges on how to adjudicate asylum cases. In 2014, a judge found that a woman escaping a domestic violence situation did qualify for asylum, setting a new precedent that was later overturned by then Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018. Sessions also decided that fleeing gang violence was not grounds for asylum. Biden is likely to return to Obama-era guidance which allowed for both claims, according to MPI, but even under Obama, the odds of being granted asylum in the U.S. were low.

The U.S. was once considered the world leader on refugee protections, offering permanent resettlement to more people per year than any other country in the world combined, according to the American Immigration Council. The U.S. has been a leader in shaping resettlement programs since admitting more than one million refugees in the aftermath of World War Two. That ended abruptly during the Trump Administration, which lowered the cap on the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. each year. In October, The White House announced it was setting the fiscal year 2021 cap at 15,000 refugees, an all-time low.

Read more: I Oversaw DHS Refugee Affairs. Here Are 3 Ways the Trump Administration Is Trying to Mislead You

Biden has promised to increase the refugee admittance cap to 125,000 people a higher ceiling than during the Obama-Biden Administration and seek to raise it over time commensurate with our responsibility, our values, and the unprecedented global need, according to his campaign website. According to the UNHCR, at the end of 2019 there were an estimated 26 million refugees worldwide.

Offering hope and safe haven to refugees is part of who we are as a country, reads Bidens campaign promise. We cannot mobilize other countries to meet their humanitarian obligations if we are not ourselves upholding our cherished democratic values and firmly rejecting Trumps nativist rhetoric and actions.

The Obama-Biden Administration oversaw a record-breaking number of deportations, something immigration advocates and attorneys have stated is a concern for them as Biden prepares to take office. Already, some immigrant advocates and lawyers have criticized the Biden Administration for selecting Cecilia Muoz as a member of the transition team, and have expressed their hopes that she does not become selected as an overseer of immigration policy. Muoz, who was formally the head of the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Obama years, has been criticized for enabling the thousands of deportations that took place during those eight years.

According to Wong, who was also an advisor to the Obama White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and co-lead the immigration portfolio, the hardline on deportations and enforcement was a strategy calculation for the Obama Administration in order to garner Republican support for comprehensive immigration reform.

In the end, that strategy proved ineffective, Wong says, and instead led to 5.2 million people being deported from the U.S. (The Clinton Administration deported more than 12 million people, and the Bush Administration deported more than 10 million.)

Under Trump, enforcement of deportations expanded from Obamas guidance of prioritizing undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a felony or were considered a threat to national security and public safety, among other criteria, to include all undocumented immigrants.

Biden will also have to decide what to do about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Though the agency has existed since 2003, it has faced widespread allegations of neglect and human rights violations under the Trump Administration. There are over 130 ICE facilities in the U.S., about 66 of which are run by private contractors, according to immigrant advocacy organization Freedom for Immigrants, which collects data on ICE facilities. A combination of Trumps family separation policy and the number of deaths that have occurred in ICE custodyat least seven children have diedhave fueled calls from immigration activists and some members of congress to shut ICE down.

Biden will also have to balance calls to Abolish ICE with what the Democratic party and voters want to see happen, Wong says.

Though Biden will likely not abolish ICE, he may take steps to end government partnerships with for-profit companies like GEO Group, CoreCivic and LaSalle Corrections which together run dozens of ICE facilities. He may also seek to shorten the length of time for those in detentionparticularly for childrenand improve the quality of health care provided at these facilities, a topic that recently came into the spotlight after a whistleblower accused a doctor at a privately run ICE facility of performing unwanted hysterectomies on detained women.

Read more: The Objective Is to Save Lives. Inside the Effort to Get ICE Detainees Released During the Coronavirus Pandemic

At the end of the day, Sarah Pierce, another policy analyst at MPI, says the next four years may bring a change of pace in changes to immigration policy, as Biden navigates the COVID-19 pandemic and other high-priority domestic issues.

During the Trump Administration, immigration was the top policy priority. They poured everything they had into enacting their agenda, Pierce said during the Nov. 9 webinar. I think under a Biden Administration were about to see the pace of immigration changes slow down significantly. Theres going to be a lot of questions about how much they can accomplish in the first 100 days, and really how much they can accomplish in four years.

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Write to Jasmine Aguilera at jasmine.aguilera@time.com.

Read more here:
Biden Has Promised to Undo Trump's Immigration Policies. How Much Is He Really Likely to Reform? - TIME

President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenOutside groups flood Georgia with advertising buys ahead of runoffs Biden will receive @POTUS Twitter account on Jan. 20 even if Trump doesn't concede, company says Trump to participate in virtual G-20 summit amid coronavirus surge MOREs victory is reviving the hunt for one of Washingtons biggest white whales: immigration reform.

Talk of a potential agreement under Biden comes as Congress has tried and failed in recent years to clinch a deal related to the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

GOP senators pointed to immigration as one area of potential compromise under a government likely to be divided next year.

I think that would be a good thing to do, Sen. John CornynJohn CornynTrump keeps tight grip on GOP amid divisions Romney: Consequences of Trump actions during lame-duck 'potentially more severe' than transition delay The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC - Trump, Biden clash over transition holdup, pandemic plans MORE (R-Texas) said about the potential to do immigration next year.

The challenge is youve got to get the votes, but that to me is one of my biggest disappointments in my time in the Senate, our inability to get that done, Cornyn said, adding that he would try to be part of that effort if the topic comes back up.

Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamHackers love a bad transition The Hill's Campaign Report: Trump campaign files for Wis. recount l Secretaries of state fume at Trump allegations l Biden angered over transition delay Georgia elections chief: 'Emotional abuse'to mislead voters about fraud MORE (R-S.C.) during a recent call with reporters said there was room for deals between Republicans and Biden on several issues, and there may be some things we can do on immigration. You know, you got the Dreamers hanging out there.

I will be willing to work with the Biden administration, if he wins and Im not conceding that he will in ways to make the country stronger, Graham said, adding that Biden would have to decide if he wants to cut deals with Republicans.

Sen. Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyOvernight Health Care: Trump announces two moves aimed at lowering drug prices | Sturgis rally blamed for COVID-19 spread in Minnesota | Stanford faculty condemn Scott Atlas Cut tariffs and open US economy to fight COVID-19 pandemic Rick Scott tests positive for coronavirus MORE (R-Iowa), who will chair the Judiciary Committee if Republicans keep control of the Senate, didnt rule out action on immigration but warned it would depend on the parameters, which he said would need to be somewhere in between extremes on both sides.

Its kind of a case of the extreme points of view like people who think we can load up 12 million people and get them out of the country; if they want to do that, they cant be a part of it. And for the people who want people to be citizens yesterday, they cant be a part of it, Grassley said.

The shift to a Biden administration comes after President TrumpDonald John TrumpBen Carson says he's 'out of the woods' after being 'extremely sick' with COVID-19 Biden will receive @POTUS Twitter account on Jan. 20 even if Trump doesn't concede, company says Trump to participate in virtual G-20 summit amid coronavirus surge MORE took a hard line on both illegal and legal immigration during the past four years, waging a years-long fight over the border wall, trying to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, overhauling U.S. asylum policy and enacting a zero tolerance strategy that has left, according to court documents last month, at least 545 immigrant children yet to be reunited with their parents after the government separated them.

The Senate in 2018 was close to an agreement that would have provided $25 billion for border security in exchange for a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children, but the White House and the Department of Homeland Security helped tank it.

The House passed the DREAM Act in 2019, but the bill went nowhere in a GOP-controlled Senate.

If Democrats had been swept into the Senate majority, immigration reform was expected to be on their to-do list as the party considered ending the legislative filibuster.

Now, even if Democrats are able to force a 50-50 tie by flipping two Georgia seats in runoff elections in January, they would be well short of the 60 votes needed to pass a deal.

The uphill battle in Congress has immigration reform advocates urging Biden to make changes to the system through executive action, including rolling back Trump orders.

Biden is expected to quickly revive the DACA program, end the Trump administrations so-called Muslim ban and end construction on the U.S.-Mexico border wall. He is reportedly eyeing a freeze on deportations to give his administration time to issue new guidance for immigration agents. Biden also announced late last week that he would dramatically increase the refugee cap.

Ron Klain, Bidens incoming chief of staff, reiterated that addressing children brought into the country illegally as children would be one of the first actions taken by a Biden administration, saying it would be an action taken care of on Day One.

But immigration reform advocates are warning they will pressure Congress to take legislative action on immigration reform starting next year and wont just settle for executive actions.

Lorella Praeli, the president of Community Change, said during an event on Monday hosted by the National Immigration Forum that both Biden and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellBiden decides on pick for secretary of State OVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats push Biden to pick Haaland as next Interior secretary | Trump administration proposal takes aim at bank pledges to avoid fossil fuel financing | Wasserman Schultz pitches climate plan in race to chair Appropriations Key McConnell ally: Biden should get access to transition resources MORE (R-Ky.) will feel some pressure.

A lot of people are deciding too early in my view ... to throw in the towel on Congress, to let Mitch McConnell off the hook, but I am unwilling, 100 percent unwilling to do that in this moment, she said, adding that there were multiple pathways to getting a path to citizenship.

Stuart Stevens, a longtime GOP strategist, said he thought it was in the best interest of the Republican Party to make a deal on immigration reform, saying it should be a win-win for both parties.

But pressed if he thought McConnell would be helpful, he added, Listen, Mitch McConnell and helpful are words Ive not tied together in a long time.

McConnell has generally been wary of bringing up items that divide his caucus. The Senates 2018 immigration votes, for example, were driven by leverage to reopen the government.

And the GOP caucus, even with Trump out of the White House, has immigration hawks that are likely to bristle at any talk of a deal with Biden. Sens. Tom CottonTom Bryant CottonMore conservatives break with Trump over election claims Warnock hit by Republicans over 'cannot serve God and the military' comment Republican senators urge Trump to label West Bank goods as 'Made in Israel' MORE (R-Ark.) and David PerdueDavid PerduePence campaigns in Georgia as Trump casts shadow on runoffs Loeffler faces ethics complaints for soliciting donations in US Capitol The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Capital One - Pfizer, BioNTech apply for vaccine authorization MORE (R-Ga.) were behind a Trump push to reduce legal immigration, a plan that earned backlash even from fellow Republicans.

Fox Newss Tucker CarlsonTucker CarlsonMore conservatives break with Trump over election claims Ex-AG Holder urges GOP to speak against Trump efforts to 'subvert' election results The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Capital One - Pfizer, BioNTech apply for vaccine authorization MORE immediately ripped Graham for his comments earlier this month, accusing him of being willing to sell out his voters with an amnesty deal.

Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzMcSally, staff asked to break up maskless photo op inside Capitol Capitol's COVID-19 spike could be bad Thanksgiving preview Republican senators urge Trump to label West Bank goods as 'Made in Israel' MORE (R-Texas), asked about making a deal on immigration with Biden, argued that Democrats would try to enact amnesty, a buzzword used on the right that stirs up political passions among base voters.

I think the Democrats want to see a massive amnesty plan, which would be a serious mistake, Cruz said.

Asked if he thought it was a mistake for his colleagues to even open the door on immigration with Biden, Cruz replied, Yes.

Read the rest here:
Biden win revives immigration talk | TheHill - The Hill

Democrat and former Vice President Joe Biden likely will be the next president of the United States, but that does not guarantee freedom for Rosa Sabido, who has lived in sanctuary in a Mancos church for over three years.

Sabido was among the people living in sanctuary who signed and sent a petition to Biden, asking him to publicly commit to granting a stay of removal, or temporary postponement of deportation, to each person living in sanctuary on his first day in office.

The petition, organized by the Sanctuary Collective, also asked Biden to lift deportation orders against those in sanctuaries within his first 100 days in office, and to sign all private bills that grant paths to citizenship for people in sanctuary.

Already, Biden has promised to restore Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It allows about 600,000 young immigrants who live in the U.S. illegally and were brought here as children to remain in the U.S. Although the program does not give legal status, it does give temporary protection from deportation and permission to work legally, similar to protections under DREAM Act proposals.

Opponents say the law rewards people for breaking the law, encourages illegal immigration and hurts U.S. workers.

Biden also has stated he will send a comprehensive immigration bill to Congress within his first 100 days in office.

But Sabido is restrained in her expectations about the scope of change to immigration Bidens administration will bring, especially with the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic weighing on the incoming president.

Im cautiously optimistic, she told The Journal last week. Biden has promised to reverse the Trump administrations policies, but I dont know to what point, Sabido said.

Sabidos experienceHer doubt stems from 33 years of living in Montezuma County without obtaining legal citizenship, and not for lack of trying, she said. Even if Biden were successful in reversing executive orders from the Trump administration that forced her into sanctuary to avoid raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sabido said she is skeptical of broader reform.

Her application for a one-year stay of removal was denied by ICE in June 2017. The former church secretary fought for decades after arriving from Mexico to gain permanent residency but has not been successful.

I have been so hopeful in the past administrations that things will change, but they didnt, Sabido said. Thats why Im here.

Reconstruction of the immigration system cant be done through an executive order from the president alone, and Republicans in the Senate might not support reformative legislation.

Division over immigrationDespite Bidens projected victory over President Donald Trump, anti-immigration sentiments in Montezuma County are not dissipating.

I dont feel safe for the next weeks until (Biden) takes office, Sabido said.

She also is concerned Trump will pass more executive orders on immigration before January, when his term ends.

There is relief that comes with a Trump defeat, Sabido said, recalling the hundreds of immigrant children who are separated from their parents after arriving at the Mexico-U.S. border.

But there is still strong division, she said.

What this country went through for four years was so painful and abusive, she said. I cant believe it will be over soon.

After Jan. 20, she plans to restart the long process of asking for support from Colorado congressional leaders with a private bill granting citizenship.

Rosa Belongs Here, a community organization helping Sabido in her effort to achieve permanent residency, delivered a petition signed by 2,750 people to U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, in February, asking him to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives that would provide a legal path for Sabido to stay in the U.S.

But nothing has come of the petition, and Tipton was defeated by Lauren Boebert in the Republican primary.

Boebert went on to win the general election, and given her criticism of Tipton for making it easier for immigrant farm workers to gain residency in Colorado through the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, she might not support Sabido in her attempt to gain citizenship.

The defeated Democratic candidate for the House, Diane Mitsch Bush, had promised to sponsor a bill for Sabido.

But Sabido continues to hold hope.

I trust in peoples humanity, she said.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., also has shown support for Sabido.

Mending misunderstandings Sabido said not all immigrants are criminals, as Trump has suggested.

We are innocent people who do nothing but work, she said. There are many immigrants like Sabido that did not get married or have children to stay in the country, but tried to gain citizenship by working and applying for it, and yet she still has not gained citizenship, she said.

We come to this country with this dream, Sabido said, and find so many things we dont have in our countries.

But that image of the U.S. has been lost under the Trump administration, she said.

Theres a language of healing, and I think thats the key word, she said.

Those interested in supporting Sabido can help by participating in an online auction and fundraiser for Sabidos legal citizenship efforts and to help pay bills she is still incurring on her house while in sanctuary.

[emailprotected]This article was republished on Nov. 16 to report that Joe Biden, the projected winner of the presidential election, likely will become U.S. president.

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Would a Biden administration bring immigration reform? - The Journal

The Pueblo Chieftain

Prevent urban sprawl with immigration reform

By Glen Colton

TheUnitedStateslosesafootballfieldofnaturallandevery30seconds. Not to erosion or rising sea levels. But to a different kind of deluge -- a flood of people moving to theUnitedStates.

Since 1996, the U.S.populationhas skyrocketed from 270 million people to 330 million, primarily due to migration from other countries. That figure could eclipse 440 million by 2065 if current trends continue. Nearly 90 percent of thegrowthwill come from immigration, according to Pew Research.

Asourpopulationexplodes, so does the demand for new buildings, roads, and cropland. Unless we humanely reduce future immigration levels, overdevelopment will irrevocably destroyouropen spaces.

Cities can only hold so many people before developers expand into surrounding areas. This buildout, known as "urban sprawl," has already destroyed vast swaths of countryside. The continentalUnitedStateslost 24 million acres ofnaturallandto development between 2001 and 2017.

At this rate, "a South Dakota-sized expanse of forests, wetlands, and wild places in the continentalUnitedStateswill disappear by 2050," according to the Center for American Progress.

Developers swallow up farmland too. Between 1992 and 2012, they converted 31 million acres of agriculturalland-- the equivalent of all the farmland in Iowa -- into subdivisions, office parks, roads, and other man-made structures. By 2050, there will be a mere 0.7 acres of farmland per U.S. resident. That's a 63 percent decrease from the level in 1980.

When developers cannibalize former farmland, it leaves farmers with two environmentally damaging options.

They can either raze more open spaces -- including existing forests and unplanted fields -- and turn it into viable new cropland. Or they can boost yields on existing plots of farmland by using more pesticides and fertilizers, which ultimately polluteourwaterways and the food we eat.

Rapidpopulationgrowthalso causes terrible traffic congestion. As people get pushed further away from city centers, they're forced to drive longer distances and sit in traffic for hours on end. In 1980 -- when the country had 100 million fewer people -- the average American spent 20 hours a year stuck in traffic jams. Now, the average American spends 54 hours a year -- more than a full weekend -- dealing with congestion.

This congestion isn't merely annoying -- it's poisoningourplanet. The longer people sit in traffic and idle their cars, the more emissions they generate. Sprawling urban areas are responsible for 80 percent of thegrowthin vehicular carbon emissions since 1980. Those emissions -- which account for 28 percent of total fossil fuel emissions in theUnitedStates-- exacerbate climate change, which threatens to devastate much of the planet via floods, wildfires, storms, and droughts in the coming decades.

Fortunately, there's still time to prevent this environmental catastrophe. More than 11,000 scientists recently warned that "the worldpopulationmust be stabilized . . . [to lessen] greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss."

Americans are already embracing sustainability and choosing to have fewer children. Ifpopulationgrowthwere driven solely by birthrates, the U.S.populationwould barely budge in the coming decades.

Unfortunately, Congress hasn't held up its end of the bargain. Since lawmakers expanded annual immigration levels in 1965, immigrants and their descendants have accounted for 55 percent ofpopulationgrowth. America's foreign-bornpopulationhas more than quadrupled over the last five decades. Today, more than 45 million immigrants live here. And in the coming decades, immigration will cause nearly all of the projectedgrowthin the U.S.population.

The vast majority of immigrants are good people. They'reourfriends and neighbors.

But it's possible -- in fact, it's essential -- for environmentalists to welcome the immigrants already here while pushing for humane limits on future migration. It's the only way to protectouropen spaces from overdevelopment.

Curbing overall immigration levels needn't be a partisan issue. Sixty-three percent of Americans, including 53 percent of Democrats, support cutting annual legal migration to less than 500,000, according to a Harvard/Harris poll. Currently, the government admits about 1.1 million new immigrants each year.

The American public is already trying to stabilize thepopulationand protect the environment. It's time forourleaders to follow suit.

Glen Colton is an environmentalist and long term sustainability activist who lives in fast growing Fort Collins, Colorado.

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Columnist: Prevent urban sprawl with immigration reform - Pueblo Chieftain