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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
June 26, 2014 Joseph Rendeiro
(202) 776-1566
jrendeiro@nclr.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.—One year ago, the U.S. Senate passed the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (S. 744),” a historic piece of bipartisan legislation designed to overhaul our nation’s outdated immigration system. Responding to the will of the American people, who overwhelmingly support immigration reform, Republicans and Democrats came together to reach a compromise that included a much-needed path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. One year later, however, Republican leadership in the House of Representatives has obstructed any movement forward on immigration reform, refusing to bring similar legislation up for a vote or introduce their own solution.
“The track record of House Republican leadership on immigration over the past year is appalling,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR (National Council of La Raza). “For twelve months, they have been making excuses and pointing fingers at the administration while sitting on their hands and allowing thousands of mothers and fathers to be torn from their children every day. They have failed to act on an issue that not only is supported by voters across the political spectrum but would also be an economic boon to this country by creating jobs and reducing our deficit.”
Over the past year, the only actions on immigration that House Republicans have taken are shameful votes to undo the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and to limit the president’s legitimate discretion to act when they will not. Unsurprisingly, when NCLR and a number of partner organizations issued preliminary scorecards rating members of Congress on their performances on immigration, most members of the GOP caucus received failing scores.
“House Republican inaction on immigration reform reaffirms the need for the president to step in and address the ongoing crisis that our community faces,” added Murguía. “House leadership can either act now to relieve the pain that hundreds of thousands of families have felt due to our broken immigration system, or they can tarnish their brand with the Latino community for generations to come.”
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
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