FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julian Teixeira
(202) 776-1812
jteixeira@nclr.org
Immigration legislation is an urgent call for Congress to address the national interest
Washington, D.C.—NCLR (National Council of La Raza) commends Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Harry Reid, D-Nev., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and John Kerry, D-Mass., for introducing the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011,” legislation that provides a real, effective, and humane fix to our broken immigration system.
“We thank these Senate leaders for introducing this legislation and striving to resolve this problem at the federal level, where the immigration debate should be taking place,” said Clarissa Martínez-De-Castro, NCLR Director of Immigration and National Campaigns. “With this legislation, Sen. Menendez and the Democratic leadership are sending a clear signal to their colleagues, particularly those who represent states that have passed draconian immigration laws that they should come to the table to deliver real policy solutions that work.”
The “Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011” would restore the rule of law by requiring the 11 million undocumented people in our country to come forward, obtain legal status, learn English, and assume the rights and responsibilities of citizenship while also creating smart enforcement policies that uphold national security and the Constitution. In addition, it would restore our legal immigration system, allowing citizens and legal residents to reunite with their families and permitting future workers to legally enter the nation under conditions that safeguard the American workforce.
“This is a bill that articulates a serious policy solution, and it should be seen as an invitation to other members of Congress to come forward to address this problem,” said Martínez-De-Castro. “We know that immigration enforcement measures alone will not solve this issue. We commend Sen. Menendez and his colleagues for providing real leadership, not expensive Band-Aid fixes to a problem that has been ignored for more than a decade.”
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