Immigration Reform????

Yesterday, the US Senate finally passed a bill that begins to address some of the requirements for comprehensive reform. The bill includes a path to legalization for many of the undocumented immigrants, a national dream act, an increase in family visas and an increase in employment visas. It is great that members of the Senate recognize that our country must solve the current situation in a manner that respects human rights and enable families to reunite.

Unfortunately, far too many undocumented immigrants are left out of the path to legalization so their future is very much in doubt. There is much to much focus on enforcement and punishment including less access to the courts for immigrants, increases penalties to immigrants for even minor offenses, and would spend billions of dollars to build a wall at the southern border of the US.

Now the hard part is trying to reconcile this with the House of Representatives which only seems interested in punishment and enforcement, and is not interested in recognizing undocumented immigrants at all.

We must insist on a solution that is humane and is comprehensive. So far, even the Senate version comes up short but we must realize that our vigilant action and protests during the past few months has changed the tone of the debate and made it possible for comprehensive reform to have made as much progress as it has. So, watch for more alerts and keep in touch as we work hard to make sure the final bill truly honors human rights and provides a real path for legalization.
-Vic