President Obama, Senator Reid Issue Statements Supporting Bipartisan Progress on Immigration Reform

America's Voice Blog

Posted 03/18/10 at 08:16pm

President Obama, Senator Reid Issue Statements Supporting Bipartisan Progress on Immigration Reform

Today Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released a bipartisan framework for comprehensive immigration reform.

Here is the President's statement, praising these efforts:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 18, 2010

Statement by the President Praising the Bipartisan Immigration Reform Framework

In June, I met with members of both parties, and assigned Secretary Napolitano to work them and key constituencies around the country to craft a comprehensive approach that will finally fix our broken immigration system. I am pleased to see that Senators Schumer and Graham have produced a promising, bipartisan framework which can and should be the basis for moving forward. It thoughtfully addresses the need to shore up our borders, and demands accountability from both workers who are here illegally and employers who game the system.

My Administration will be consulting further with the Senators on the details of their proposal, but a critical next step will be to translate their framework into a legislative proposal, and for Congress to act at the earliest possible opportunity.

I congratulate Senators Schumer and Graham for their leadership, and pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue so we can continue to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated:

“I applaud Senators Schumer and Graham for the sensible and bipartisan outline they produced to fix our broken immigration system. I support reform that includes strong and effective enforcement of our borders, tough sanctions against employers who violate our immigration laws, and expanded channels for legal immigration, where appropriate.

“Reform should require immigrants here illegally to register with the government, learn English, pay their taxes, pass criminal background checks, and pay fines and other penalties before they can go to the back of the line to seek lawful permanent residence. Reform should protect the U.S. economy and American competitiveness. It should not only safeguard the rights and quality of life of American workers, but improve their lives by raising wages and eliminating unfair competition.

“I am committed to bringing to the floor the bill Senators Schumer and Graham hope to introduce with White House input, when it is ready. The cornerstone of success lies in their bipartisan work”.

America's Voice Executive Director Frank Sharry responded to the news with the following statement:

I am encouraged by today’s publication of a bipartisan framework for comprehensive immigration reform by Sens. Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham. It is a positive step forward in the effort to get reform legislation moving and passed by Congress this year.

Pres. Obama’s support for the framework is also a welcome development as he calls on Congress “to act at the earliest possible opportunity” and pledges “to do everything in [his] power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year.”

The next step is for Sens. Schumer and Graham to translate this blueprint into legislation, and for it to be debated in the Senate Judiciary Committee in April.

The legislation must include measures that require undocumented immigrants to get legal and pay taxes on their way to becoming full citizens, reunite families in a timely fashion, punish unscrupulous employers who break labor and immigration laws, and establish a flexible and orderly legal immigration system – all in the service of transforming our broken immigration system into one that serves our nation’s interests and reflects our finest values.

Now it’s up to Congress and the President to advance legislation that combines these elements. Given how long we have been debating the need for comprehensive immigration reform, the American people want and deserve nothing less.