Dem Promises Pathways to Citizenship and TPS Protection as Chair

An India-born representative promised during a press conference last week that if Democrats were to win the majority in November, she would use her new leadership role to extend pathways to citizenship for immigrant families.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s remarks come after she held a rally to protect Temporary Protected Status following the Supreme Court’s decision last week to allow the Trump administration to revoke the TPS status of hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants.

“When I am chair of the Immigration Subcommittee, we will pass permanent protections and pathways to citizenship for immigrant families,” she said during the press conference also attended by her colleague Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.

Currently, Republicans hold the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives by a narrow margin, but recent wins for the Democratic Party have given its most progressive wing a burst of momentum.

Jayapal, who was born in India, also promised “humane and comprehensive” immigration reform.

During the press conference, Jayapal also claimed that the decision only “strengthened” their desire to reform immigration.

“We are not going to be oppressed by hopelessness and powerlessness,” she added.

“We are going to be strengthened by organizing in our communities and fighting for justice,” she wrote on X. “And when we win back power, we will reform the court so it actually represents us.”

Democrats have continuously vowed to protect illegal immigrants after Thursday’s Supreme Court decision.

For instance, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a video on Thursday telling immigrants who are at risk of losing their status that his office would provide them with assistance against deportation efforts if needed.

“We stand here in solidarity with everyone concerned about today’s decision. If you are worried about what this means for your status, I would encourage you to call our Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs hotline,” Mamdani said.

In response, Mateo Forero, the director of investigations at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Daily Signal that the mayor’s efforts are “a blatant attempt to undermine federal immigration law” that criminally “obstructs” federal authority.

“The Trump administration has the ability to use every available tool—including taking legal action, imposing funding conditions, and conducting direct enforcement operations—to counter the mayor’s defiance,” Forero continued.

Scott Mechkowski, the Oversight Project’s visiting fellow for deportation studies, expanded on the remarks and told the Daily Signal that because of the overruling authority of the Supreme Court and federal law, the politician is purposefully gaslighting immigrants who have had their status revoked.

“What he can’t do is build a wall around this city. ICE operates in New York with or without him, and a phone number doesn’t keep a single work permit alive one day past the deadline,” Mechkowski said. “Standing on a stage promising families he’ll keep them here, when he knows he can’t, isn’t courage. It’s handing scared people a lie and calling it hope.”

Prior to the Supreme Court decision, Democrats forced a vote on a proposal to protect the Temporary Protected Status of Haitians. The measure passed the House and has since stalled in the upper chamber.