Last Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It’s worth remembering that King’s dream was never meant to be recited once a year — it was meant to be practiced. Right now, one of the most urgent places to practice it is immigration policy.
Our system is broken in ways that fuel fear, punishment and scapegoating. In that vacuum, hate and intolerance toward each other gain oxygen by turning immigrants into symbols instead of seeing them as human beings: workers, parents, neighbors. We can reject politics without ignoring real needs for order and security. We need legislation that is both firm and humane.
That’s why Congress should take up the DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025 (House Resolution 4393), a bipartisan proposal introduced July 15, 2025, led by Reps. María Elvira Salazar and Veronica Escobar. The bill’s core framework aims to strengthen border management, modernize asylum, require nationwide E-Verify and create a structured, “dignified” solution for undocumented immigrants who meet clear requirements — while also protecting American workers.
We can argue endlessly about enforcement versus compassion, but the country is begging for a legislative path that does both. The alternative is more chaos, more cruelty and more extremism. Congress should move — now.
Chris McAneny
Mt. Washington