President Obama Lays Out Vision for Immigration Reform

President Obama Lays Out Vision for Immigration Reform

Causa reacts to President Obama’s vision for immigration reform as presented today in Las Vegas, Nevada

Salem, Ore. – On the heels of an immigration reform framework released yesterday by a bipartisan group of United States Senators, today President Obama released his own vision for an overhaul to the nation’s broken immigration system. 

During a speech in Las Vegas today, the President laid out his immigration reform proposal in four parts: Earned Citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, Streamlining Legal Immigration, Continuing to Strengthen Border Security, and Cracking Down on Employers Hiring Undocumented Workers. The full details of the President’s vision can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/29/fact-sheet-fixing-our-broken-immigration-system-so-everyone-plays-rules

Causa joins with allies nationwide in applauding President Obama for making immigration reform his top priority and are encouraged by the bipartisan plan issued by a group of Senators, while stressing the importance of lawmakers focusing on keeping families together. Causa also stands united with immigration reform advocates across the nation in that we won’t settle for anything less than a clear and reasonable path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country.

The country’s patchwork of failed and mismanaged immigration policies is tearing families apart every day. Today, the President put that reality and some of the solutions which would create a more just and humane immigration system front and center.

“A path to citizenship must be fair and without insurmountable barriers so that it will not take decades for immigrants to become full-fledged Americans,” said Francisco López, Executive Director of Causa Oregon. “Latinos and immigrants spoke loud and clear during the 2012 elections and we will continue to use our political power to get an immigration bill passed in 2013 that includes citizenship and measures that keep families together in this country.”

While  President Obama and members of the U.S. Senate have issued their criteria for future immigration reform legislation, members of the House have yet to come together to release their own plan.

The President made it clear during his speech that he is willing to work with Congress, but that now is the time to have this debate and that there is no reason to delay immigration reform any longer. The President also mentioned that if the Senate does not move a bipartisan bill forward that his administration would introduce their own version.

Lopez added, “There must not be any further delay. We need immediate reform to ensure an end to unjust and inhumane deportations and families being torn apart by our broken and inadequate immigration system. Likewise, because immigrants are crucial to the U.S. economy, the speed of our country’s economic recovery depends heavily on Congress getting the problem of our broken immigration system solved. ”

Responding to the growing momentum and heavy support nationwide for comprehensive immigration reform, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), said he will schedule a hearing on immigration reform in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee for February.

Causa will be working with allies around the state to ensure all members of Oregon’s Congressional Delegation support Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation that includes legalization for 11 million undocumented immigrants, a barrier free and fair path to citizenship and an end to policies that divide communities and separate families.

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About Causa Oregon
Causa, Oregon's Statewide Immigrant Rights Organization is the largest Latinaand Latino civil and human rights and advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information, visit www.causaoregon.org