4. Pass Fair, Balanced, Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Our country has always been a nation of immigrants and the current system is in desperate need of reform. Eleven million people currently work and raise families in our communities without the possibility of one day becoming citizens of the United States. Now that bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the Senate, we have finally begun to carve out a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and create common sense solutions to fix our broken immigration system. We need comprehensive immigration reform to create a fair and practical path to citizenship. We also need to ensure that we respect the human and civil rights of those who come here for temporary work because those are the core principles our nation was founded upon. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House on passing comprehensive immigration reform.
The first challenge to reforming our broken immigration system is creating a path to citizenship for those who are already here, while not encouraging further unauthorized border crossings. That is why we must strengthen our borders and develop a strategy for achieving and maintaining effective security in our border communities. Additionally, I support commonsense solutions that utilize technology to track immigrants entering on visas and allow businesses to confirm they only employ documented workers.
The second challenge is reforming our country’s guest worker program. It is important that we protect the farm workers who provide the fruit and vegetables we eat every day. In reforming our guest worker program, Congress needs to be cautious about weakening the modest requirements in the current H-2A program. Any legislation must address the needs of agricultural workers such as, labor mobility, the opportunity to improve wages, safe working conditions, and a path to residency and ultimately citizenship, while treating the workers with respect and human dignity.
These reforms will strengthen our economy and increase our competitiveness in the global marketplace. They will also protect our families who live in constant fear of being separated from their loved ones. Undocumented immigrants in our communities cannot achieve their full potential without having the opportunity to earn legal status.
IMMIGRATION REFORM RESOURCES
Learn more about H.R. 15, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. Introduced in the House of Representatives by freshman Rep. Joe Garcia of Florida, the Democratic Comprehensive Immigration Reform proposal has nearly a half-dozen Republican co-sponsors, with 199 co-sponsors total.
Learn more about S. 744, the "Gang of Eight" bill in the U.S. Senate, the ‘Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act’.
Grupo de los 8: La Reforma migratoria bipartidista (S. 744 en espanol)
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus' "Principles on Immigration Reform and Our Commitment to the American Dream," the 9 principles of immigration reform demanded by members of the CHC.
Report from the Center for American Progresson economic impacts of immigration reform: The Economics of Legalizing the Undocumented: What a Path to Citizenship Means for the U.S. Economy.