For Immediate Release
May 10, 2011
Contact:
Joseph Rendeiro
jrendeiro@nclr.org
(202) 776-1566
Washington, D.C.—NCLR applauds the fact that President Obama is using his bully pulpit to reinvigorate the push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Coming on the heels of one of the most important national counterterrorism measures of his administration, the speech underscores the importance of this issue to the country.
The president is right to highlight the steps his administration has taken to make the country more secure, bolster resources at the border, and crack down on unscrupulous companies that exploit American and immigrant workers. He is also right to point out that Congress must fulfill its responsibility to produce legislative reform. We continue to note with concern the deafening silence of the Republican leadership on CIR as well as other issues of importance to the Latino community. We urge them to break their silence for their own sake as well as that of the American public.
That being said, we hope and expect that the White House will go beyond speeches and meetings and take meaningful action. As record levels of detention and deportation continue to soar, families are torn apart, innocent youth are being deported, and children are left behind without the protection of their parents. Such policies do not reflect American values and do little to solve the problem. We can do better.
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 us on Twitter and Facebook.
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