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(Washington D.C.)- Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) joined members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Conference for a meeting yesterday with President George W. Bush to discuss comprehensive immigration reform and efforts to gain support for the STRIVE Act.
The Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act of 2007 was introduced last month into the House of Representatives by Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) and Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and cosponsored by Congresswoman Napolitano. This bipartisan, long overdue comprehensive immigration reform addresses many of the problems plaguing our current immigration system:
- Strengthens border security by putting more personnel on the border and employing cutting edge technology.
- Bolsters enforcement by increasing penalties for crimes committed by immigrants, combating the use of fake documents, and increasing penalties for illegal immigration.
- Allows undocumented immigrants to pay a $1,000 fine and pass a background check in order to obtain conditional status with work authorization for a six-year period. If during that period an immigrant holds down a job, obeys the law, learns English and US civics, and pays taxes, they will be eligible to adjust their immigration status pending a second $1,000 fine and a trip out of the US in order to reenter legally.
- Improves employment verification by setting up a biometric employee identification system and penalizing employers who do not comply with the system
“Our meeting was productive and served as an important opportunity to work with the President in bringing immigrants out of the shadows and securing our homeland,” said Napolitano. "The STRIVE Act will go a long way towards achieving comprehensive immigration reform and the time for action on it is now. I was grateful for the President’s time and for the meaningful bipartisan discussion facilitated by the meeting.”
At the conclusion of the meeting Congresswoman Napolitano delivered to President Bush a letter from District 2 Councilman Freddie Rodriguez of Pomona. The letter asked for the support of First Lady Laura Bush and her Helping America’s Youth program towards efforts to address crime and drugs among young boys in Pomona’s Youth and Family Master Plan.
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