Immigration

The United States is country of immigrants. I am the daughter of immigrants. Our country’s proud tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees is part of what makes America exceptional. Each generation of immigrants comes to our country with the belief that hard work and perseverance will provide them with better opportunities to safely raise their family. Home to over 3.5 million immigrants, Los Angeles’ highly diverse immigrant communities are the embodiment of the American dream.

Unfortunately, our broken immigration system puts the American dream out of reach for many immigrants. The best and brightest minds are shut out of our economy, leaving us at a competitive disadvantage. Entire groups are people are forced into the shadows for fear of inhumane treatment or deportation. Families are broken apart and children are forced to grow up without their parents for years on end.

This is simply unacceptable. 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. Achieving these goals will not be easy but I am committed to finding a way to truly reform our country’s broken immigration system and give deserving people a chance to become equal members of society.

That’s why I support 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 executive actions to allow "DREAMers" to remain in the only country they have ever known.

Only by humanely working with our undocumented immigrant population, safely securing our borders, and enforcing our existing our laws, can we fix our immigration system and restore the American Dream.