ORLANDO, Fla. — Echoes of chants reverberated through the air as signs bearing slogans such as “immigration built our nation” adorned a news conference featuring Congressman Maxwell Frost and other prominent figures in the immigration arena.
During the gathering, Frost, alongside fellow immigration leaders, aimed to shed light on proposed legislation they assert could adversely impact immigrant families in Central Florida. The policies in question, they argued, have the potential to impose restrictions or temporary halts on asylum proceedings and eliminate a parole program facilitating reunions for families separated by immigration challenges.
Congressman Frost, sharing his personal connection, stated, “My mother Maritza was just a little girl when she came to this country with her sister, her mom, and dad, all in search of freedom and opportunity.”
Various speakers within the group, including Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet from the Hope CommUnity Center, recounted their own journeys and experiences. Sousa-Lazaballet emphasized, “I am the son of a refugee and asylum seeker” and recounted arriving in the United States at the age of 14 without his mother.
Addressing the audience, another speaker shared, “Twenty-four years ago, I took a boat from Haiti.” Their collective stories aimed to underscore the human aspect of immigration and its impact on families.
A common theme throughout the conference was a call to action, urging local residents to hold their representatives accountable. One speaker passionately challenged the audience, stating, “I challenge each and every one of you to fight and represent the democracy that we claim we have and for each and every one of you who hears this to take one step toward protecting one immigrant.”
Reiterating the point that immigrants are integral contributors to society, Congressman Frost emphasized, “Our teachers, our health care workers, our nurses, people that are working every single day to make Central Florida, Central Florida are immigrants.”
Frost proposed a comprehensive solution, asserting that a swift pathway to citizenship would be the ultimate resolution.
WESH 2 sought the perspectives of several local Republican members of Congress on the matter but has yet to receive responses. One declined to comment, citing travel commitments. Recently, Congressman Cory Mills, a Republican, expressed his views on Facebook, stating, “If we can’t even secure our own border to protect our homeland, then we certainly should not fund any part of government until we address the invasion that’s human rights, national security, and health crisis. We need to enforce the laws on the books.”
Efforts to obtain comments from additional local Republican representatives are ongoing.
