Issued December 10, 2014
Need for Lasting Reform Remains as Senate Judiciary Committee Examines Immigration Administrative Action
WASHINGTON--As the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to conduct a hearing this (Wednesday) afternoon on Keeping Families Together: The President's Executive Action on Immigration and the Need to Pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform, SEIU International Executive Vice President Rocio Saenz issued the following statement:
Over the past two years, the Senate has engaged productively on commonsense immigration reform, passing with bipartisan support a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws by a wide margin in 2013. The Senate's constructive approach has stood in stark contrast to that of House leaders, who have often allowed obstructionists in the Republican caucus to guide their decisions. They have blocked all efforts to enact permanent reform and instead have voted to deport all DREAMers and the parents of U.S. citizens with no consideration of the length of time they may have lived here, the contributions they have made, or the hardship their removal would cause to themselves or others.
"Immigrant families work hard to make their dreams and the dreams of their families a reality. They make our communities and our country better and stronger. Today, in reviewing the recently announced administrative action on immigration, the Senate will find the president's action will keep immigrant families together and in the process make our nation safer and more prosperous.
"Our message from working families to Senate Republicans, who will soon take charge of the chamber, is this: Do not play political games with immigrant families' lives. Do not do what the House has done and waste time and goodwill on legislation that would derail the president's immigration action. Instead, work with your colleagues across the aisle and make a renewed push for comprehensive, commonsense, permanent reform. Move the country forward, not backward."