Rep. Gutierrez Pledges to Introduce Progressive Immigration Reform Bill

September 17, 2009

Washington, DC – Today, during a community dialogue event in Washington D.C. with immigrants and new citizens celebrating Citizenship Day, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) vowed to introduce an inclusive and progressive comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next several weeks.  The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington.

We praise Representative Gutierrez for his leadership in pushing Washington to act on immigration reform.  Today’s announcement is a critical step forward to comprehensive immigration reform that serves America’s interests.  We need to get the ball rolling now to craft a proposal that creates an immigration system realistically designed and effectively enforced.  Progress in 2009, means an immigration bill on the President’s desk in 2010.

Rep. Gutierrez understands the imperative for action on immigration reform and the political and humanitarian price of inaction.  His commitment to move the ball forward responds to the urgent need for reform expressed in immigrant communities across the country.

The need for reform is clear and politicians must resolve this issue so that it does not continually delay or derail other important priorities.  As we have seen in the health care reform debate, we cannot continue to make meaningful policy decisions as long as we have 12 million individuals living and raising their children in our country, but who float outside of our system in a form of legal and societal limbo.  Our broken immigration system will be a stumbling block to any meaningful policy change.  The choice we face is the fantasy of mass deportation or the realistic and achievable goal of legalization and we need to choose one or the other sooner rather than later because the issue is not solving itself.

Comprehensive immigration reform will get undocumented immigrants into the system and fully integrated into American society.  It will restore order to our legal immigration system by channeling people through ports of entry with visas, not through the desert with a smuggler.  This will help us establish a legal immigration system where rules are enforced in a humane way but in a way that builds confidence in the system.  Rep. Gutierrez is moving us another important step closer to that goal.

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