Immigration
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The United States has a proud legacy as a nation of immigrants. People from all parts of the world have come to America's shores to build a better life for their families, and in the process built the strongest democracy in the world. Immigration laws need to reflect our core values of family unity, fairness, and economic opportunity.
Hinojosa is urging the swift passage of two bipartisan pieces of immigration legislation - the AgJobs bill to address the needs of the agriculture labor market and to provide a pathway to legal residence for farm workers and the DREAM Act, which would enable promising young students who have been educated in the United States but whose path to the American Dream of a college education is blocked because they do not have immigration documentation.
Immigrants will continue to be to essential to the economic growth and vitality of our nation. New immigrants accounted for more than 50 percent of the civilian labor force growth between 1990 and 2001. According to some projections immigrants will account for half the workforce growth between 2006 and 2015 and all of the growth between 2016 and 2035.
Our immigration system is unable to meet the demands that are being placed on it. A comprehensive approach to immigration reform is desperately needed. Hinojosa endorses the Democratic principles and priorities for immigration reform, which include:
on this page: Latest News
The United States has a proud legacy as a nation of immigrants. People from all parts of the world have come to America's shores to build a better life for their families, and in the process built the strongest democracy in the world. Immigration laws need to reflect our core values of family unity, fairness, and economic opportunity.
Hinojosa is urging the swift passage of two bipartisan pieces of immigration legislation - the AgJobs bill to address the needs of the agriculture labor market and to provide a pathway to legal residence for farm workers and the DREAM Act, which would enable promising young students who have been educated in the United States but whose path to the American Dream of a college education is blocked because they do not have immigration documentation.
Immigrants will continue to be to essential to the economic growth and vitality of our nation. New immigrants accounted for more than 50 percent of the civilian labor force growth between 1990 and 2001. According to some projections immigrants will account for half the workforce growth between 2006 and 2015 and all of the growth between 2016 and 2035.
Our immigration system is unable to meet the demands that are being placed on it. A comprehensive approach to immigration reform is desperately needed. Hinojosa endorses the Democratic principles and priorities for immigration reform, which include:
- Family Reunification - The current statutory ceilings for family and employment-based immigrant visas are no longer adequate and have resulted in unacceptable immigration backlogs. The fact that the sibling of a United States citizen born in the Philippines must wait twenty-two years to adjust status is just one example of our unfair immigration policy.
- Earned Access to Legal Residency - An earned legalization program would adjust the status of the many hard-working, law-abiding, and tax-paying immigrants, as well as students educated here, who have resided in the United States for many years.
- Immigrant Student Adjustment - There are tens of thousands of young students, who, despite their successes both in and out of the classroom, face a future of uncertainty due to limited access to affordable tuition, restrictions on financial aid, and undocumented immigration status.
- Border Safety and Protection - Our immigration system must provide safety, security and stability at our borders. Border patrol agents must have the necessary resources to enforce the law and ensure safety and due process protections at our borders.
- Enhanced Temporary Worker Program - An enhanced temporary worker program should provide an appropriate mechanism for workers who wish to move between their home country and the U.S. to benefit from new economic opportunities and serve as a way for recent arrivals to the U.S. to earn permanent status
- Civil Liberties - The civil liberties and constitutional rights of immigrants and visitors must be respected.