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Friday, February 11, 2011

Pierluisi Calls on Hispanic Community in the United States to Unite to Seek Equality for Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, DC- Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi called upon the Hispanic community to unite as one powerful force to seek equality for Puerto Rico.

“Despite our differences, we are—at core—a community, una familia. It is imperative that we support each other, that we defend each other, and that we fight for each other . . . . When we unite, we are a powerful and persuasive force,” said the Resident Commissioner in his acceptance speech, delivered after he received the National Legislative Award from the League of United Latin American Citizens, known as LULAC.

Pierluisi said that just as the broader Hispanic community should support Puerto Rico, the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico should advocate for immigration reform. “In both areas, the status quo is untenable, unjust, and unworthy of this great nation. In each case, change is essential and long overdue,” he said.

The Resident Commissioner said that Puerto Ricans continue to live like second-class citizens in their own country, with the unjustified sanction of certain political groups on the Island who insist that the status quo is preferable to the most realistic alternative: statehood. He took the opportunity to thank the overwhelming majority of Hispanic members of Congress who supported his efforts to find a solution to Puerto Rico’s status question through his bill, H.R. 2499.

Additionally, this past December, the lead Democrat and Republican on the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the status issue sent a letter to President Obama, expressing their view that the status options set forth in H.R. 2499 are the only options available to Puerto Rico.

“I firmly believe that, at this point in time, Congress has done all that it is disposed to do on the status question. They have laid out the options and indicated that they will treat the results of any plebiscite among those options in a serious and solemn way. The ball is now in Puerto Rico’s court. It is incumbent upon us to conduct a fair plebiscite at a time of our choosing. We must determine our destiny. Nobody else will do the hard work for us. Our future is in our own hands,” said Pierluisi.

On the issue of immigration, Pierluisi said that the solution must originate in Washington. “It is clear that an “enforcement-only” approach, separate and apart from the moral problems it raises, will not be effective. The Pew Hispanic Center found that there were approximately 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2010, about 8 million of whom were in the work force. Over 75% of this population is of Hispanic origin.” he said.

“These numbers are basically unchanged from 2009, despite high unemployment among U.S. workers, record-level deportations by the federal government, and vigorous efforts by numerous states to take action against unauthorized immigrants. Can there be more compelling evidence that calling for more police and more prosecutors is a simplistic and ultimately self-defeating approach to a complex problem?” added Pierluisi.

The Resident Commissioner called upon Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

“I am convinced that it is possible to craft—and enact—a thoughtful, humane, balanced and clear-eyed bill that is faithful to the fact that we are a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. Since this country’s founding, the hard work of making America better has been carried out by intrepid individuals like them, men and women from other shores whose character, passion and talent have continuously enriched this nation and replenished its spirit. This is a great country—and it is a great country precisely because of people like them. We, as a community—as a familia—must continue to fight on their behalf. It is a good and honorable fight—and one I am proud to make,” said the Resident Commissioner.