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Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) thanks her supporters during the Democratic Watch Party at Colony West Golf Club in Tamarac on Aug. 23.

After a razor-thin primary win by less than 10 votes last year, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was relieved when she comfortably cruised to victory this August in herprimary rematch.

But before she started winning, Cherfilus-McCormick had to learn from her losses like the times she lost to Rep.Alcee Hastingsin 2018 and 2020.

The truth is no one had won in my district, outside ofAlcee Hastings, in 30 years, she said of her fellow Florida Democrat. People knew my story because they saw me running for so long. They saw me evolve.

When Hastings died, she came to Congress in a special election to fill the seat. She kept telling her story including feeling like her life was over when she became a single mom, only to find it was a new beginning.

Pretending to be perfect, or pretending to know it all, doesnt motivate or change anything, she said.

Now that shes headed for an expected second term, she feels a sense of destiny. As the first Democratic Haitian American ever to be elected to Congress, she hopes she can make her colleagues see the urgent need for immigration reform.

If were not being proactive, were going to keep seeing it weaponized, she said.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Q: Whats surprised you about Capitol Hill so far?

A: Since it was a special election, we didnt have any preparation time. Its kind of like, you won, be there in two days to get sworn in. I remember the first meeting I had was withHakeem Jeffries. I said, So when is orientation? And he said, This is orientation.

Q: Youre the first Haitian American Democrat to serve in Congress, and just the second overall, after Republican Mia Love of Utah. What has that been like for you?

A: With whats been going on in Haiti right now, especially with immigration, it really has felt like destiny. At this time, at this place, there needs to be a voice for the Haitian American community. And I have the honor of being that voice.

Were talking to everyone, like at the Summit of the Americas with Dr. Ariel Henry, whos the de facto prime minister. Were talking to influencers in the country. Figuring out how we can help Haiti be independently sustainable has been a priority.

Q: Do you think your fellow lawmakers understand whats happening in Haiti?

A: I was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, and then I lived in South Florida. So my entire life Ive always lived in areas where there is a large Caribbean population, especially a Haitian population.

Immigration policies have not been fair to Haitian immigrants, so its something that is just a constant if youre from those areas. In Congress, we live a different reality. I had a conversation with members about the urgency for us to try and get in and stabilize Haiti, because otherwise its just going to increase immigration. And I had a member who said to me, Well, whats the rush?

It kind of woke me up. Were seeing boatloads coming to our border. Were seeing boats capsized. Every time a boat comes, my constituents are waiting for their family members on the other side. My phone rings off the hook. But that isnt the reality for many, many members in Congress.

Q: When it comes to passing immigration legislation, what do you see as a realistic goal?

A: We have to start prioritizing it, because immigration is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for both sides. If were not being proactive, were going to keep seeing it weaponized.

One day when I was presiding in Congress, I took the subway over with a Republican colleague. I was talking to him, and he was very nice. Then, when he got up (to speak on the House floor), the first thing he said was, I want to thank the border patrol for keeping those Haitians out of the country who were coming in to do crimes.

My eyes were like, What? I felt like, is that what you thought of me and my parents when they came here?

Immigration is constantly used by the Republican Party as a scare tactic immigration is bringing fentanyl for the children, or immigrants are coming in to rob the country. I really dont believe he believed any of that. Theres no way you can demonize an entire group of people and think its OK. Thats where its gone too far.

Q: Republicans have been gaining ground in some immigrant communities, including in your home state of Florida. How should Democrats respond?

A: We have to start by telling them the truth. No matter what you want to say about Democratic policies, I show them what the Republicans say on the floor. These voters arent watching C-SPAN, but I wish they would, because then you would know who really believes in you and whos articulating your needs.

I think thats how we motivate not just the Haitian community, but the Caribbean community and even the African American community. Show them whats being said on the floor. If politicians were bold enough to say what they say in D.C. in the community at a rally, it would be beyond a shadow of a doubt. The community would be like, What? How dare you.

Quick hits

Last book you read?The Alchemist.

In politics, can the ends justify the means?Yes.

Your least popular opinion?I cant sing, but I think I can sing.

Americas best president?Barack Obama.

Closest friend across the aisle?Mario Daz-Balart. He was the one who actually swore me in. He told me, Im so proud to say these words for you, because you prove that immigrants dont come here to pillage, but to succeed and thrive.

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Florida congresswoman: There needs to be a voice for Haitian Americans - Florida Courier

Ninth 'Hugs, Not Walls' event will go on despite imminent departure of El Paso Sector Border Patrol chief, event organizer says

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) Some 300 families separated by immigration status are being invited to gather in the middle of the Rio Grande on Oct.15 in El Paso for a Hugs, Not Walls event.

The gathering will go on despite the imminent departure of U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gloria I. Chavez, who green-lighted the last event, said organizer Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights.

This is a gathering of a humanitarian nature but also a protest where we put the spotlight on how families are being separated, destroyed by U.S. immigration policy, Garcia said. The group is one of scores of civil rights and advocacy organizations in the United States calling for comprehensive immigration reform that includes legalization for millions of people who came across the border without authorization many years ago, have held jobs or otherwise contributed to American society and may have U.S.-born children.

The gatherings on the dry riverbed are supervised by U.S. immigration authorities who allow people to walk south of the border wall in El Paso to spend time and briefly embrace loved ones staying in Mexico. Afterward, everyone goes back the way they came, unimpeded.

The first Hugs, Not Walls event took place in 2016 despite impossible odds, Garcia said.

This is something that transcends (White House) administrations. We had the first Hugs, Not Walls happened during the Obama administration at a time people were calling him the Deporter-in-Chief, Garcia said. People were talking about raids and deportations, but people were not talking about the effect of immigration policies on actual families mothers separated from their children, brothers separated from their brothers. We wanted the public to visualize the crisis Latino families are living,

This will be the ninth Hugs, Not Walls event in El Paso. For more information, visit BNHRs webpage or call 915-577-0724.

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Migrant families to gather in the middle of Rio Grande on October 15 - WJTV

COLUMBUS The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published onNews5Cleveland.comunder a content-sharing agreement.

With food prices skyrocketing, many factors have been blamed.

They include disrupted exports of grain, fertilizer, and fuel because of Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. They also include supply-chain disruptions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, the agricultural and food processing sectors have been plagued by the same labor shortages that have hit other parts of the economy.

Amid deep worries that Ohios foodbanks will run out of supplies this winter, a top official last week said that the labor shortage among food workers is particularly acute and an irrational fear of immigrants isnt helping.

Another thing were lacking is labor, said the official, Ohio Association of Foodbanks Executive Director Lisa Hamler-Fugitt. Wed rather demonize the people who plant our food, grow our food, pick our food, and bring our food to our grocery stores. Those are our migrant workers who do the work that most Americans have clearly demonstrated they cant or wont do.

However, a survey released Tuesday indicates that Americans across the political spectrum support immigration reform if that means lowering food costs.

If additional labor is to be added to the agricultural workforce, that means more immigrants.

For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that in 2016, undocumented immigrants made up 50.1% of the nations farmworkers. Another 22% was authorized, meaning that immigrants of all types made up almost three quarters of the farm workforce.

A similar portion of Americans 77% said yes when asked whether they wanted Republicans and Democrats working together this year on reforms that could help lower food prices by ensuring a legal, reliable workforce for Americas farmers and ranchers.

In addition, 70% supported Republicans and Democrats working together this year on improving legal immigration options that could address labor shortages and reduce pressures at the border, said the survey, conducted by the Bullfinch Group on behalf of the National Immigration Forum and Americans for Prosperity.

The online survey was conducted from Aug. 5-8 with 1,208 adults, of whom 83% of whom were registered voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.82 percentage points.

Perhaps not surprisingly, when asked if they supported lowering food prices by ensuring a stable, legal workforce, respondents levels of agreement were overwhelming and fairly uniform across political lines. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats, 68% of independents and 74% of Republicans agreed.

Maybe more surprising is that the dynamic didnt change much when immigration and the border were added to the mix. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans said yes, as did 68% of independents and 79% of Democrats.

This latest poll confirms what the American people have been consistently saying for years: Lawmakers need to put partisan politics aside and fix our countrys broken immigration system, Jorge Lima, senior vice president of policy for Americans for Prosperity, said in a statement accompanying the poll. They can start now by ensuring that our farmers have a reliable workforce to draw from in order to meet labor demands. We urge lawmakers to bring relief to the American people today.

Dan Gordon, vice president of strategic communications for the National Immigration Forum, said its time to stop using immigration and the border as partisan footballs.

All Americans will benefit when Democrats and Republicans reach solutions that address the border, agriculture and legal-immigration processes that honor the contributions of immigrants already here, he said.

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Poll: People across the spectrum support immigration rules to keep food coming - News 5 Cleveland WEWS

San Antonio Express-News

Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to bus migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C., has amplified the desperate need for comprehensive immigration reform. Since April, Abbott has bused more than 7,200 migrants from Texas to President Joe Bidens backyard. Since Aug. 5, hes bused more than 1,500 migrants to New York City.

Immigration is a federal issue, but it is an acute challenge for border states. And we cant help but notice that Abbotts busing program has had an interesting side effect. It has prompted comments from Mayors Eric Adams and Muriel Bowser, of New York City and Washington, D.C., that give voice to the pressures border communities face.

We need help, and were reaching out to the federal government to tell them that we need help, Adams said just after the first bus arrival.

So, in a narrow sense, props to Abbott for prompting Adams and Bowser to articulate the concerns of border communities, which bear the brunt of a broken immigration system. And if this, in turn, leads to comprehensive immigration reform, then it would be a master stroke. But our concern is this is more about scoring political points than bringing attention to the issue of immigration with appropriate moral urgency. Consider what Abbott said in a statement this month about busing:

Because of President Bidens continued refusal to acknowledge the crisis caused by his open border policies, the State of Texas has had to take unprecedented action to keep our communities safe he said. In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city. .

Immigration is a federal issue, but for border communities its local, and the pressure is intense. The flow of migrants in the Del Rio sector has been off the charts.

In a recent Editorial Board meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told us smuggling organizations are far more sophisticated than they were in the past. And he said this is a unique moment in terms of immigration flow.

What we are seeing is something very, very different than what preceded over the last x number of years, he said. Because its not simply, or merely, migration from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. We are seeing a tremendous increase in Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Cubans, Brazilians, Peruvians.

Given shifting global immigration patterns and federal political gridlock, just what is a border governor to do? No wonder Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, told us busing immigrants to Washington and New York is smart politics on Abbotts part because his GOP base overwhelmingly supports his immigration efforts. And, of course, he has brought broader attention to the issue.

On one level, what Abbott has offered migrants, if you remove the obvious politics, is a pretty good deal. They receive a free bus ride to Washington or New York, where asylum is granted more often than in Texas and organizations are better resourced to provide aid. Its the kind of offer that might inspire more migrants to come here, an irony Abbotts supporters should ponder.

But while busing might be smart politics, we wonder what Abbotts end game is , or whether there is a moral driving force. In our interview, Mayorkas said the governors actions on the border, when done in coordination with DHS, can be beneficial. But when the state acts unilaterally, it can wreak havoc.

In this case, the busing doesnt wreak havoc, but, Mayorkas said, The unilateral busing of migrants, irrespective of the capacity of particular locales to address the needs of those individuals, also can prove problematic.

Were concerned about how it turns migrants into political props; plays states against each other; and presents immigrants strictly in terms of cost while ignoring the economic benefits they bring.

As the buses flow to New York City and Washington, D.C., and mayors in those cities echo the words of mayors along the border, as migrants cross in the Del Rio sector, lets all take stock of what words and actions truly lead to the comprehensive reforms so long overdue and desperately needed.

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Other voices: If only busing migrants would spur comprehensive reform - Longview News-Journal

There was a time when the Lone Star State deserved a little consideration from the rest of the nation for shouldering a Texas-sized share of the burden of this countrys immigration challenges. Until Congress finally gets its act together and approves comprehensive immigration reform legislation that provides a path to legal residency for more foreign nationals while shoring up border security a compromise thats been attempted and failed repeatedly since Ronald Reagan was president the United States will continue to struggle with a piecemeal approach that is neither fair nor humane, nor is it helpful to the economy or public safety. Its not even rational.

But empathy toward Texas, which shares over 1,200 border miles with Mexico, has dissipated over the years as the states leadership has reduced immigration issues to a problem of Mexican and Central American illegals, ignoring this countrys longstanding immigration roots as well as all the hardship and suffering many people face, leading them to seek a life in the states. Now, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has chosen to dispatch busloads of migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C., to make a public relations point about such sanctuary cities, where local laws or policies often protect undocumented immigrants from deportation or prosecution, and to protest what his office calls the Biden Administrations refusal to secure the border.

The message is simple: You deal with the crisis, because we dont want to. Theres no regard for the migrants themselves or the communities receiving them. And its certainly not deterring anyone. According to research from Syracuse University, highlighted in the Texas Tribune, the busing could actually help the migrants stay in the country longer. While Dallas has denied 70% of asylum applications over the past two decades, New York City courts have approved 70%.

Imagine if other communities burdened by insufficient federal policies sent their challenges elsewhere to handle. Baltimore is awash in guns, for example, yet Washington cant seem to approve sufficient regulation legislation thanks to NRA buddies like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Since Texas claims to be all about law-and-order, perhaps we should ship our seized illegal firearms to Americas second largest state.

Climate change is one of Marylands most worrisome long-term problems, but Congress hasnt taken stronger action to reduce emissions because oil and gas producing states like Texas have too much clout on Capitol Hill. Alas, even if we pipe our collective emissions back to those Texas deniers, we still get global warming, so heres our best alternative: Ship them our gas guzzlers. Lets make a point to the big petroleum companies that were headed, like California, to a future of electric vehicles, as soon as possible. The less gasoline we consume in Maryland, the better off well be.

Then theres plastic waste. From bags and bottles to packaging material and drinking straws, millions of tons of plastic debris are not only filling our landfills, floating in our oceans and destroying habitat, but they are also damaging human health. These are made from petrochemicals, another example of something coming out of Texas thats bad for everyone else. So lets start loading the garbage trucks and dumping our plastic back where it came from Texas.

Of course, the alternative to all that reciprocity and revenge would be for politicians like Mr. Abbott to sit down and stop treating migrants as subhuman and recognize this is a complex problem that requires a nuanced solution as do gun violence, climate change and plastic waste. Texans may have forgotten that it was President Reagan, the beloved leader of the political right, who granted amnesty to several million undocumented immigrants when Congress passed the last immigration reform deal in 1986. We hope they consider this a reminder.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.

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If Texas is going to punt challenges elsewhere, here's what Maryland should send to Texas. | COMMENTARY - Baltimore Sun