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Funds for crucial Education
By ILHAN OMAR
US Congress
Education is a pathway to greater opportunity and economic security. It is the lynchpin of the American Dream. I am committed to ensuring all Americans have access to an affordable, quality education at every level, from pre-K through college and beyond.
We must equip our nation's elementary and secondary schools with the best possible resources in order to help prepare our students for their future. That means increasing federal funding for crucial education pro- grams and grants to local schools, as well as repairing and updating classroom infrastructure. Our students cannot thrive in schools that have leaking ceilings, classrooms without heat or air conditioning, and contam- inated drinking water. They need a safe environment and high-quality equipment to succeed. We must also ensure that the teachers who mentor our students have what they need to prosper by providing all school employees with higher wages, paid leave, and first-rate benefits.
But we cannot stop advocating for students once they graduate high school, particularly given the increasing barriers they face in pursuing higher education. The rising cost of college and post-secondary education and training is limiting the opportunities and mobility of our future workforce. College debt has increased 170 percent since 2006 and now exceeds $1.5 trillion dollars, making it harder for borrowers to succeed, build wealth or contribute to economic growth. That burden of debt has a disproportionate impact for students of color and working-class students, perpetuating our nation's growing equality gap.
I am fighting for our students by pushing policies that will address the rising cost of college. That includes policies like establishing tuition-free college and eliminating the existing student loan debt that's currently holding millions of Americans back. Enacting such plans will ensure that everyone - regardless of their income or zip code, the color of their skin or their parents' occupation - has access to a quality, affordable education.
Ilhan Omar is the US 5th District Democratic Congressional representative for the state of Minnesota.
A just system of immigration
By ILHAN OMAR
US Congress
Since the founding of this nation, immigrants have been integral to the develop- ment and diversity that makes America so unique. Many immigrants and refug- ees, like myself, have escaped war, oppression and socio-economic strife in
our homelands to seek better opportunities in the United States.
But sadly, our nation's immigration system is fundamentally unjust and trag- ically inhumane. Instead of extending humanity and compassion to migrants and refugees, we treat them as criminals. There is no need for children to be put in cages. There is no need to fund an expensive wall that only stands for hate and bigotry. There is no need to the Immigrations and Customs Enforce- ment (ICE) agency routinely crack down on innocent immigrants in a brutal and militarized fashion.
My position will always be to establish a just immigration system that welcomes and protects all human beings, never treating anyone as a presumed criminal, no matter their ethnicity, religion, or any other orientation.
Rep. Ilhan Omar
In Congress, I continue to push for ICE to be abolished and replaced with an agency that can defend our national security without criminalizing and brutali- zing vulnerable communities. I am also steadfastly fighting to prevent even one more dollar from going to the Department of Homeland Security that could be used for the continued vilification of immigrants or other practices that violate the fundamental values we hold as a country.
I am also fighting for a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, TPS holders, and DED recipients. I am committed to doing all I can to help the more than 11 million undocumented immigrations living in the United States come out of the shadows and get access to rights and privileges they deserve.
Just as importantly, we cannot continue to ignore the plight of migrants and refugees, which is why I am pushing for a return to our historical role as a leader in refugee resettlement and reform of our existing policies abroad that are causing people to flee their homes for a safer future.
Ilhan Omar is the US 5th District Democratic Congressional representative for the state of Minnesota.