Our immigration system is broken.  As a result, some individuals from other countries, desperate for a better life in the U.S., take great risks to enter our country without proper documentation.  We need comprehensive immigration reform that fixes our immigration system, deals humanely with the undocumented immigrants already in America, and increases the security of our borders. I am working hard to develop legislation that will truly reform this country’s broken immigration system and give deserving people a chance to become equal members of society.

In the meantime, I support targeted legislation like the DREAM Act, which would help hard-working children of undocumented immigrants attend college and earn legal status. Additionally, I applaud President Obama for using prosecutorial discretion to allow "DREAMers" to remain in the country they call home.  America has never before required children to pay the price for their parents’ violations of the law. 

And to ease the burden that our broken immigration system places on local and state governments,  I have introduced legislation to require the federal government to process SCAAP reimbursements to state and local government in a more timely manner. Making sure our cash-strapped state and local law enforcement agencies are properly reimbursed means that they won’t have to choose between detaining criminal aliens and other important public safety priorities.