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Press Release

Defeat of Unworkable Bill Gives Senate Second Chance To Get Immigration Reform Right .

Immigration proponents will continue to push for fair and just legislation that creates an orderly and legal process for immigration into the United States.

June 8, 2007

Contact:
Lizette Jenness Olmos 202-833-6130 ext.16
 

Washington, DC – LULAC National President Rosa Rosales made the following statement today after the vote to end debate on the Senate immigration bill failed by a 45-50 margin:

“The Senate’s failure to achieve cloture on a punitive and unworkable immigration bill, provides our Congressional leadership an opportunity to take a fresh approach to solving our broken immigration system and to get a much needed reform bill done right. Because the bill was brokered behind closed doors and failed to provide a legal opportunity for future workers to enter the United States, the bill failed to please the majority of immigrant advocates as well as those who are concerned with preventing undocumented immigration in the future.

The American public continues to demand action by Congress and the White House. The vast majority of Americans support comprehensive reform that keeps families united and allows hard working immigrants an opportunity to earn their way to legal status, while securing our borders and deterring future undocumented immigration. Our country has become strong because each successive generation of immigrants has brought their energy, talent and work ethic to our nation, strengthened our economy and enriched our culture. Congress must find a way to provide this generation of immigrants with the same opportunities their ancestors had when they came here. Everyone agrees our immigration system is badly broken. It’s up to Congress and the White House to step up and to fix it, and to do so now.

We encourage Congress and the White House to renegotiate a workable bill that unites families, protects human rights, creates an avenue for undocumented immigrants to legalize their status and allows future workers to come here legally with a pathway to permanent residency.

We also want to thank those policymakers who have worked hard to develop a just bill that responds to the needs of our economy, our citizens, and our future immigrants. However, we are disappointed that a few Congressman appear more interested in currying favor with a small but vocal group of anti-immigrant obstructionists than in solving our nation’s immigration problems. It is time for Congress to stop listening to the anti-immigrant few and to start responding to vast majority of Americans who want a workable and legal immigration system that meets the needs of our country.

LULAC encourages our members and allies to continuing contacting our elected leaders to stress the importance of passing fair and just comprehensive immigration reform. Our members and allies can have a letter sent to their Congressman by signing our fair and just immigration petition at www.onemillionvoicesunited.org.”

The League of 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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