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WASHINGTON, D.C. --
U.S. Representative Jan
Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined a bi-partisanship coalition of Members of
Congress including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Rep. Luis
Gutierrez (D-IL), Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), immigrant workers and families, and
labor and religious leaders today at a rally in support of H.R. 2330, the Secure
America and Orderly Immigration Act. On the steps of the Foundry United
Methodist Church in Washington, Representative Schakowsky joined her colleagues
to support an immigration reform plan which would give the millions of
undocumented immigrants in this country legal options to work their way towards
citizenship. The rally kicked off a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill by the
coalition of groups advocating for immigration reform.
Representative Schakowsky’s statement is below:
We are a strong and broad
coalition of labor, business, civil rights, and religious organizations, and we
mean business. This rally will be followed by a lobby day tomorrow with
advocates from 30 states and town hall meetings throughout the country.
Our message will be heard loud and clear in Washington this week.
Comprehensive immigration
reform is a must for this Congress and it must be done right.
The vast majority of the 11
million undocumented immigrants in this country are law-abiding, hard-working
individuals who pay their taxes and are contributing to our society. They
are our neighbors, fellow worshippers, and friends. They want to stay in this
country, to continue their part to making it better, and they want to do so
legally. They want their children to share in the opportunity of American and to
help make this country even stronger and better.
We want
solutions. Every day someone dies in the desert. Every day in
America, there are millions of immigrants working to provide services but living
in fear, afraid to seek heath care and educational opportunities for their
children. Every day immigrant families remain separated. Every day
local communities struggle to deal with the consequences of our failed federal
immigration policies. This is un-American, unsafe and unjust. We
want viable, real solutions and we need them today.
We need an immigration system
that welcomes well-intentioned, hard-working people to this great country.
We need an immigration system
that keeps families together. And we need one that helps re-unite them
faster when they have been torn apart.
We need an immigration system
that brings people out of the shadows, and puts them on a path toward living the
American dream.
We need a realistic system –
and a workable system that will make America more secure and immigration more
orderly and fair. One that rewards hard work with earned legalization.
We need improved immigration
services so that paperwork does not get held up in backlogs that take years to
process.
That cycle must be broken.
That’s why I strongly support
H.R. 2330. It’s a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform bill.
H.R. 2330 offers immigrants a
clear route to citizenship and new opportunities as Americans.
It will help immigrants to
this country continue to contribute to it in so many valuable ways.
It will lift the cap on
family visas to help families who have waited up to ten years to reunite in this
country.
It will protect workers’
rights, protect wages and benefits, and allow workers to change jobs and join
unions to bargain for their rights.
We need real and
comprehensive immigration reform now.
The McCain-Kennedy,
(Colby-Flake-Gutierrez) bill will make overdue and commonsense improvements to
our immigration system. And, working together, I know we are going to get it
passed
Congresswoman Schakowsky speaks at the Foundry United Methodist Church.
Congresswoman Schakowsky addresses the crowd about
H.R. 2330, the Secure
America and Orderly Immigration Act
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