Skip to main content
Know This Now

Know This Now, February 6, 2026: U.S. Citizens in Mixed-Status Marriages Face Growing Crisis, Highlighting the Need for Urgent Immigration Solutions Like the Dignity Act

By February 6, 2026February 13th, 2026No Comments

U.S. Rep. María Salazar (R-FL-27) joined American Families United (AFU), ABIC Action, and family and faith representatives for a press conference highlighting new national findings on mixed-status families, as well as the urgent need for work permits for long-standing immigrants and citizenship for Dreamers.

Watch the press conference, featured by Forbes:

Findings from the 2025 AFU National Survey of Mixed-Status Couples, the first national research of its kind, show:

  • 1 in 10 mixed-status married couples are now separated from their spouses and living in different countries
  • Mixed-status couples are significantly worse off than one year ago, many experiencing severe emotional, financial, and medical hardship
  • These marriages reflect long-term, deeply committed family relationships, not short-term or “marriages of convenience”

“Our laws must recognize that U.S. citizens and their families belong together. The Dignity Act would fix this problem,” Salazar said, calling out that the Dignity Act is gaining momentum with more than 35 cosponsors and over 65 endorsements from national and grassroots organizations.

“The bipartisan Dignity Act offers a clear and workable path that supports employers, strengthens our workforce, and reflects the values of our nation…Americans are demanding leadership and results.” -Rebecca Shi, CEO of ABIC Action

“I can’t make sense of why my country, America, would want to separate my family. Who wins with my broken family living a continent apart?” – Amanda Ribeiro, a U.S. citizen whose husband was deported to Brazil in 2025 (pull screen shot image from the press conference)

More from the ABIC Network

Business and Hispanic Leaders Call on Congress to Provide Work Permits for Long-Term Immigrants
On Friday, ABIC Action, Comité de 100, the Nevada Hispanic Business Group (NHBG) and other business leaders came together for a press conference in Las Vegas calling on Congress to advance common-sense immigration solutions, like work permits for law-abiding, hardworking, tax-paying immigrants and citizenship for Dreamers.

Immigrants make up nearly one-fourth of Nevada’s workforce and contribute more than $20 billion annually to the state’s economy. In Nevada, working families, Hispanic voters, and business leaders are focused on what matters most: a secure workforce, stable costs, and an immigration system that works, all priorities reflected in the Dignity Act of 2025

Recent polling shows broad support for secure borders, but also for policies that allow long-term immigrants who contribute to our economy to earn work permits and legal status.

INCLUDE A QUOTE FROM THE PRESSER TOMORROW


Judge Blocks Trump Administration from Ending TPS Protections for Haitians– Care for Seniors, Care for America Responds
“This week’s court decision offers temporary relief to immigrant care workers and their families who serve older adults, people living with disabilities, and communities nationwide,” read a statement from Care for Seniors, Care for America, a national coalition of senior care providers, caregiver and care worker organizations, employers, and advocates, including ABIC Action.

District Judge Ana Reyes noted in her ruling that ending TPS for Haitians would cause irreparable harm by turning over 350,000 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight. While the ruling extends TPS for Haitians for now, TPS is still at risk and could end for immigrants from many nations this year.

Temporary relief is not the same as stability. When care workers are forced to live under constant threat of losing work authorization…providers struggle to deliver much-needed services, and seniors face sudden gaps in care.

Care for Seniors, Care for America has been working to raise the alarm for the dire impacts that ending TPS will have on the healthcare and elder care workforce, and is backing efforts to force a vote in Congress on the issue, reports the Miami Herald.

Despite the judge’s ruling, the uncertainty is already hurting some businesses. Emmanuel Similus, owner of A&E Caribbean Restaurant, says the anxiety continues despite the temporary block. Three of his employees rely on TPS, putting the restaurant’s future staffing at risk, and customers have decreased.

“According to the American Business Immigration Coalition, Haitians with TPS contribute $1.3 billion in state and local taxes,” the article quoted.


News Briefing:
NBC News Interview: Trump Says His Administration Could Use ‘A Softer Touch’ on Immigration


President  Trump told NBC News on Wednesday that he believes his administration could use “a softer touch” in its immigration enforcement operations after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens last month in Minneapolis.


“We could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough… we’re dealing with really hard criminals. But look, I’ve called the people. I’ve called the governor. I’ve called the mayor. Spoke to them. Had great conversations with them. And then I see them ranting and raving out there. Literally as though a call wasn’t made.”

When asked about the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Trump said: 

“I’m not happy with the two incidents…he was not an angel and she was not an angel. You know, you look at some tapes from back — but still, I’m not happy with what happened there. Nobody can be happy and ICE wasn’t happy either.”

The Hill: Senate Republicans Try To Regain Footing on Immigration After Minneapolis Blowback

Senate Republicans are recalibrating on immigration after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed in Minneapolis and backlash over aggressive ICE and Border Patrol tactics. What was a GOP strength is now politically risky, with lawmakers warning that overreach could cost vulnerable Republicans in November.

“If you’re in a state like North Carolina, where you’ve got … 40 percent unaffiliated [voters], 30 percent Democrats, 30 percent Republican — we’re bleeding right now,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)

Tillis and others have called for leadership changes at DHS in response to the blowback. Public disapproval of ICE has grown sharply, and a new poll out this week reemphasizes the point: 65% of Americans said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has “gone too far,” according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.

Republicans are seeking a balance: targeting dangerous immigrants while avoiding tactics that alienate voters and jeopardize key races.

A growing number of Republicans in the House and advisors have also been vocal on the need for more comprehensive immigration solutions:

Fortune: ‘Immigrants Are Subsidizing The U.S. Government’– How The Undocumented Helped Shrink the Deficit By $14.5 Trillion Over 3 Decades

A new Cato Institute report finds that immigrants, both documented and undocumented, have contributed more in taxes than they’ve received in benefits over the past 30 years. From 1994 to 2023, immigrants generated a $14.5 trillion fiscal surplus, with undocumented immigrants accounting for $1.7 trillion of that. Without their contributions, public debt would be more than double GDP. The report includes several graphs showing how immigrants generated fiscal surplus, including the below:

Immigrants pay taxes at higher rates than their population share, work at high rates, and cost less than native-born Americans for education, pensions, and welfare.

Opinions:

Wall Street Journal Opinion: Trump’s ICE Tactics Alienate Americans

Public support for President Trump’s immigration agenda is slipping as enforcement tactics increasingly cater to his MAGA base, which represents only part of his 2024 coalition. While most Americans support deporting immigrants who commit serious crimes, many, including Trump voters, oppose mass deportations and the methods being used. 

Polls show growing concern that ICE has gone too far: “Most Americans think agents shouldn’t make arrests in workplaces, schools or daycare centers,” writes William  Galston who writes the weekly Politics & Ideas column at WSJ.

NYTimes Opinion: The Polls Are Clear. Americans Don’t Want This.

Kristen Anderson, a Republican pollster, writes that public opinion has turned against President Trump’s immigration enforcement in his second term. While voters broadly support deporting immigrants who commit serious crimes, many now believe ICE’s tactics are too aggressive and are making communities less safe. Support has dropped sharply among independents, urban voters, and especially Hispanic voters, who increasingly say ICE has gone too far. An issue that once strengthened Trump politically has become a growing liability.

“When I look at the groups that moved away from Mr. Trump, some of the biggest changes were among Black voters, independent voters and voters in urban areas, all of which Mr. Trump prided himself on adding to his new Republican coalition. Crucially but perhaps unsurprisingly, the group with the largest increase in feeling unsafe was Hispanic voters, who skyrocketed from 32 percent feeling less safe in October to 58 percent today,” she wrote. 

The Hill Opinion: Is Immigration Reform Now Possible?
Merrill Matthews, Texas state chair of Our Republican Legacy, writes that immigration reform may now be possible under President Trump, since Republicans have long demanded border security first and Trump claims to have delivered it. With unrest highlighting a broken system, she writes that reform must be bipartisan to succeed, potentially pairing Democratic priorities like protections for Dreamers with Republican goals such as a large legal worker program. Allowing immigrants to register, work legally, and pay taxes without automatic citizenship or welfare access, could be a pragmatic way to fix a system millions of workers and key industries depend on.

Get Involved

  1. Join one of ABIC’s Councils of 100 and let your voice be heard with your peers – sign up here. The Council of 100 is a coalition of top business leaders working to advance common-sense workforce solutions.
  2. Share your story: If your business is interested in engaging with the press as part of ABIC or amplifying your story on social media, take this quick survey to let us know your preferences. 
  3. We’re hiring! ABIC is currently seeking a Deputy Director of Communications and a Social Media, Content & Community Strategist to help drive our national communications, media engagement, and digital storytelling across key industries. Learn more and apply here.

Always available: ABIC Employer Resources Folder

ABIC in the news. . . 

View all recent coverage here