Immigration Reform

Immigrants are an important part of our district’s and nation’s history, culture and economy. However, our current immigration system is broken. There are more than 11 million undocumented residents living within our borders.

It’s time we fix our broken immigration system. We cannot do this through more piecemeal steps. We need to take a comprehensive approach that solves the whole problem.

We’re a nation of laws. And it’s important that we enforce those laws. Immigration reform must strengthen our borders and be fair to U.S. taxpayers.

We’re also a nation of immigrants. More than a million immigrants come to our country every year in search of greater opportunities for themselves and their families. They strengthen our nation and contribute to our economy. Reforms should allow immigrants to earn the right to join us as fully participating taxpayers. We should establish a streamlined program for temporary workers, and address unauthorized immigrants who are currently in our country by creating an earned path to citizenship that requires steps like passing a background check, paying a reasonable fine and back taxes, and going to the back of the line behind those who are playing by the rules while continuing to live and work in the U.S.

As Congress take up comprehensive immigration reform, I will work to include policies that will:
•    Strengthen our borders, provide the appropriate number of border patrol agents and supply them with the resources and technology they need to protect our land and maritime borders;
•    Focus enforcement of our immigration laws on criminals and national security threats, including transnational crime and drug traffickers;
•    Give local law enforcement more flexibility in complying with the Department of Homeland Security’s Secure Communities Program.
•    Expedite the naturalization process for our military personnel, veterans, and their families;
•    Reform our current seasonal worker visa program and give agricultural workers the ability to earn legal status provided they meet certain requirements, such as paying taxes and any fines;
•    Enact into law President Obama’s deferred action policy for individuals brought to this country as children, who are under the age of 30 and pose no criminal or security threat (the so-called DREAMers);
•    Provide immigration benefits to same-sex couples;
•    Reduce the backlog of visa applications that have been pending for extended periods of time, while ensuring that background checks are conducted to protect our national security.
 
Immigration reform is a top priority for our district and nation, and I will continue my work on comprehensive reform that strengthens our borders, is fair to taxpayers, allows children of immigrants to get a college education, provides an earned pathway to citizenship for families who’ve been here for generations, and establishes a guest worker program for those here doing the jobs Americans don’t want to do.