Following President Obama’s meeting today with Congressional leaders on June 25, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) applauds the President’s commitment to moving forward on comprehensive immigration reform this year. “We believe the President is firmly committed to comprehensive immigration reform and will work with Congress to act and move us forward on this vital issue,” said Bernie Wolfsdorf, president of AILA. “The President has repeatedly said he wants immigration reform passed this year. Last year’s election results, as well as survey after survey, confirm that the American people want reform, so now is time for Congress to catch up with the voters and pass a bill.”
AILA believes that a sensible comprehensive immigration reform package must include smart enforcement, a path to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the U.S., elimination of family and employment-based visa backlogs, adequate visas to meet the needs of U.S. families and businesses, a new visa program for essential workers, and due process protections to restore the rule of law in our immigration adjudications and courts.
Wolfsdorf added, “The current immigration system is broken and to allow the status quo to continue will only make things worse for the country. Until Congress deals responsibly with immigration – making taxpayers out of all immigrants, making all employers follow sensible rules, and creating a functioning legal immigration system – everything else on the President’s domestic agenda is vulnerable to being dragged down.” This is the year and this is the moment for a popular President to work with Congress to address a national issue in a way that benefits the American people and our economy.
All of the attorneys at Stern & Curray LLC are members of AILA who continually monitor developments surrounding changes to our immigration laws. For questions on the latest news and developments, please contact an attorney at Stern & Curray LLC.