NCLR: President Obama and Republicans in Congress Must Both Seize This Moment to Act on Immigration

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November 6, 2014                                                                            Joseph Rendeiro
                                                                                                          (202) 776-1566
                                                                                                          jrendeiro@nclr.org

WASHINGTON, D.C.—According to an election eve poll conducted by Latino Decisions, immigration was the top issue for Latino voters in this election cycle. While NCLR (National Council of La Raza) continues to push the president to act on immigration, the Senate and House of Representatives, which will be jointly controlled by Republicans, also have a responsibility to deliver a viable immigration reform bill, which will be the only permanent solution to our broken immigration system. 

“This is a call to action for both parties,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR. “We fully expect the president to act boldly, but that action should spur Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform at long last. It’s not an either/or situation. For the good of the nation, we need both the president and Congress to act now. Latinos will expect the GOP to use its majority position to not only make inroads with our community but, most importantly, do what’s in the best interest of our country.”

Today NCLR joined leading national civil rights, labor and pro-immigration-reform groups at the National Press Club to urge President Obama to swiftly exercise his legitimate executive authority to grant relief to the millions of aspiring Americans under constant threat of deportation and spur immigration reform forward.

“The president has the power, precedent and priority for action on his side,” said Clarissa Martínez-De-Castro, Deputy Vice President of NCLR. “He must seize this moment to fulfill his promise and bring some sanity to the immigration system, while also providing relief to the millions of families who are waiting on the House of Representatives to act. Furthermore, his action stands to bring national security and economic benefits to the country, and that should not be delayed.”

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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