The Immigration Reform bill passing in the Senate was an historic victory for immigrant advocates. While it isn’t a perfect bill, there is plenty to embrace in this landmark legislation.
Let’s take a look at some of the the incredible things that were won with the Senate bill, also known as S. 744, courtesy of America’s Voice.
The key to any immigration reform is a clear path to citizenship for our nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants. This was one of the centerpieces of the Senate bill and must be a centerpiece of any bill that comes from the House and eventually gets signed into law.
Unfortunately, the House of Representatives has a different idea of what should be in comprehensive immigration reform. Since passing the Senate, the immigration reform bill has languished, with House Speaker John Boehner refusing to allow the bill to come to a vote.
And while a group of House members have continued to work on their own comprehensive bill, the House at large is content with offering up “piecemeal” immigration reform.
That won’t work. Comprehensive immigration reform needs to be comprehensive.
This is why we need to continually push for real, comprehensive immigration reform. The piecemeal efforts from the House won’t be able to accomplish all of what’s in the Senate bill and more. We cannot accept anything less than immigration reform that fixes a broken system, brings families back together and puts 11 million aspiring Americans on a path to citizenship.
