Thank you for your coverage of the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. I was particularly moved by the inclusive nature of the inauguration and the immediate steps to make sure our government values all members of our community.

I’m a college student at Virginia Commonwealth University who has lived in this community for almost 22 years. My family teaches me to value everyone in our community and my education only reinforces that.

Since August, I’ve been working and meeting with people in my congressional offices to try and pass progressive immigration legislation that will offer a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. I am hoping that with this new administration, this goal will grow closer to becoming a reality.

On his first day in office, President Biden signaled that he is the leader of our entire country. I know my peers were excited to see reports that the president reaffirmed the right of immigrant youths to live in this country, lifted the ban on people of different religions coming to this country, took steps to ensure that the Census counts every member of our communities and suspended work on the failed border wall policies.

But to be effective, Congress must act to fix our broken im- migration system. I hope our U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner and our representative, 4th District Congressman A. Donald McEachin, will embrace the president’s call for legislation that provides a path to citizenship for immigrant youths and individuals with Temporary Protected Status.

Beyond that, as a country, we need immigration policies that prioritize keeping families together, provide a path to legal status for the estimated 11 million people living without documentation and expand protections for refugees.

I’ll be working in my community to build support for these efforts in Congress and I hope your readers will do so also.

CHLOE BROWN

Hanover County