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Home > Press Room > 2006 > Press Release
Press Release
Americans United for
Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
House Hearings Divert Attention
from Important Domestic Policy Concerns and Polarize the Nation.
July 18, 2006
Contact: Lizette
Jenness Olmos, (202) 365-4553
ljolmos@lulac.org
Washington,
DC
– The League of United Latin American
Citizens (LULAC) is joined today by a
diverse group of organizations representing
a variety of interest areas to call Congress
into taking positive action on comprehensive
immigration reform. The NAACP, the
Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education
Fund (MALDEF), the Labor Council for Latin
American Advancement (LCLAA), the National
Puerto Rican Coalition (NPRC), and the
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
have come together in reaction to the House
Hearings that are being held over the next
two months.
“We have
convened this meeting today because we are
concerned that these House Hearings are
simply a diversionary tactic to avoid
dealing with the very serious domestic
problems facing our nation today including
comprehensive immigration reform. Congress
has a responsibility to the American people
to engage in positive legislative action
that solves the very real challenges we face
regarding immigration, not simply putting up
a border fence and calling it a day.
Instead, the House has chosen to engage in a
series of audiences that are one-sided, are
creating a tide of anti-Hispanic attitudes,
harming the environment and further
polarizing the nation,” said LULAC National
President Rosa Rosales. “This is
irresponsible behavior and unnecessary.”
In recognition
of the challenges facing the nation on this
matter, LULAC passed a ground-breaking
resolution on comprehensive immigration reform
at its 77th National Convention in
Milwaukee, WI this past June. The resolution
makes it clear that LULAC is committed to the
protection and promotion of the rights and a
living wage for United States workers and is
equally committed to protecting the human and
civil rights of all immigrants living and
working in the United States. LULAC believes
that it is possible to do both while ensuring
that our borders are secure.
“Today, we are
standing together – as diverse a group of
organizations as you can find – to speak out in
favor of a sensible approach to immigration
reform that is fair to all Americans and
enhances national security efforts against
terrorism,” added Rosales. “We are committed to
working together with Congress to move this
agenda forward. We believe that immigration is a
serious problem that must be resolved, but it
should not harm important domestic
considerations such as the exploitation of
workers both domestic and foreign, or at the
expense of important environmental and civil
rights gains that the nation has made.”
The League of
United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
advances the economic conditions,
educational attainment, political influence,
health and civil rights of Hispanic
Americans through community-based programs
operating at more than 700 LULAC councils
nationwide.
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