FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joseph Rendeiro
(202) 776-1566
jrendeiro@nclr.org
Earlier today, Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR (National Council of La Raza), joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles at the National Press Club, where the mayor stressed the urgent need for Congress and the White House to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.
“The time for half-measures and one-sided approaches is over,” said Villaraigosa. “The bottom line in this debate is full citizenship. There can be no second-class citizens in America. This doesn’t just make moral sense. It makes economic sense."
NCLR applauds Mayor Villaraigosa for his staunch support of this issue, as he echoes the chorus of civil rights, faith, labor, business and law enforcement leaders who are urging lawmakers to work together to fix our broken immigration system.
“Now is the time to get immigration reform passed,” said Murguía. “This election wrote the obituary for self-deportation proposals and the fantasy that we will hunt down 11 million people. The moral, economic and political imperatives are clearly aligned, providing unprecedented momentum for the White House and legislators to deliver the rational solutions that the American people want. This is not an issue of Democrats versus Republicans. This is about doing what is best for the American people and the American economy, and doing it swiftly.”
Murguía continued, “We join Mayor Villaraigosa in issuing an urgent call to action. And we stand ready to work with anyone who is serious about delivering reform that brings order to our immigration system, provides a path to legality and citizenship for the undocumented population, upholds the value of family and safeguards the needs of our economy and the American workforce.”
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