Issued June 30, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Service Employees International Union's (SEIU) President Mary Kay Henry and Eliseo Medina joined immigration reform advocates in a meeting with President Barack Obama and White House officials.
Henry and Medina issued the following statement:
Today, President Obama has been compelled to act on addressing our immigration system because of a GOP House leadership which refuses to act on immigration reform. Given plenty of opportunities, Speaker Boehner and his Republican colleagues in the House have blocked, delayed and simply failed to deliver a real solution to the moral and humanitarian crisis that has impacted millions of families across the country.
"We commend the president's decision to take administrative action on the issue and urge him to act boldly and swiftly to provide relief to our immigrant community by using whatever tools at his disposal.
"Although necessary in light of a Republican Party that has missed a chance to make history for America for the past decade, the president's efforts will not encompass the magnitude of what permanent congressional legislation can do for our immigrant community.
"Unquestionably, as we continue to fight for a lasting solution to our dysfunctional immigration system, our communities will go from the halls of Congress to the ballot box. The Latino and Asian American voter are clear on one thing: There's no 'passing the buck' here--Speaker Boehner and his party alone are responsible for ignoring the will of the majority of Americans. Such failure will cost them in electoral cycles to come.
"We also hope that as President Obama moves forward with administrative action, he will carefully and humanely address the urgent crisis of unaccompanied immigrant minors. This issue is not to be taken lightly or politicized. Children--from whatever country they may come from--who are fleeing from violence or trying to reunite with their families obliges our country's leaders to act in the most compassionate and thoughtful way possible for the sake of our values and the safety of children."