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Home > Press Room > 2007 > Press Release
Press Release
LULAC Opposes Senate Immigration Compromise.
Punitive proposal would exploit temporary
workers, separate families and institute
draconian enforcement measures without offering
a meaningful legal pathway for immigrants.
May 21, 2007
Contact:
Lizette Jenness Olmos 202-833-6130 ext.16
Washington, DC – The League of
United Latin American Citizens National Board of
Directors has voted unanimously to oppose the
Senate immigration compromise finding the bill
unacceptable in its current form. The LULAC
Board cited the imposition of a temporary worker
program without a meaningful pathway to
permanent legal residence, the elimination of
four out of five family-based green card
categories, and the implementation of an
untested “merit-based” point system in place of
our current employment-based immigration system
as unacceptable components of the proposal.
“The Senate compromise is a
radical departure from our current system that
is rooted in family and employment-based
immigration,” stated Rosa Rosales, LULAC
National President. “If enacted, the temporary
worker provision alone would create a new
underclass of easily exploited workers who would
be forbidden from realizing the American Dream.
This bill will dehumanize workers, short-change
employers and lead to wide-spread undocumented
immigration as many workers inevitably overstay
their visas rather than return home.”
LULAC has consistently
advocated for comprehensive immigration reform
that unites families, allows hardworking
immigrants already here to earn their way to
permanent residence, and allows future workers
to immigrate legally to the United States. While
the Senate compromise does provide a chance for
undocumented workers to earn permanent residence
and includes the DREAM Act and AgJOBS, the bill
falls woefully short at reuniting families and
fixing our broken immigration system with a
legal pathway for future immigrant workers.
“LULAC cannot support a bill
that will separate families and lead to the
exploitation of immigrant workers while
resulting in widespread undocumented immigration
in the future,” stated Brent Wilkes, LULAC
National Executive Director. “We will continue
to urge Congress to enact fair and just
immigration reform that unites families, protect
human rights, creates an avenue for undocumented
immigrants to legalize their status and allows
future workers to come in legally while
providing a pathway to permanent legal residency
if they want to stay.”
The League of the United Latin
American Citizens, the oldest and largest
Hispanic membership organization in the country,
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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