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Meng Applauds Passage of Senate Immigration Bill

June 28, 2013
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) today applauded the passage of the Senate immigration reform bill.
“The vote in the U.S. Senate is a great victory for those of us who have long advocated for comprehensive immigration reform,” said Meng. “Passage of the bill represents the first realistic chance in years to fix the nation’s broken immigration system, and finally overhaul the dysfunctional immigration laws that have failed to work for the American people for far too long. I thank the Gang of Eight, and in particular Chuck Schumer – my home-state Senator – for all their tireless work, and for the difficult job they’ve endured in reaching this critical moment.”
The Senate bill would allow millions of immigrants to live and work in the United States and one day become proud American citizens. It would also secure the border, modernize our immigration system and speed-up the backlog of legal immigration cases, among many other things.
Meng also participated in a press conference on Capitol Hill late this afternoon where she and other Members of Congress criticized House Republicans’ piecemeal approach to immigration reform. The event coincided with the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee considering the SKILLS Visa Act (H.R. 2131), which eliminates vital visa programs, such as Diversity Visas and Sibling Visas, and provides no pathway for undocumented immigrants to earn a place in our society.
Other similarly partisan and misguided bills offered by House Republicans include the SAFE Act (H.R. 2278), the Agriculture Guest Worker Act (H.R. 1773) and the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1772).
“I join my colleagues in criticizing House Republicans for pushing forward a piecemeal approach to immigration reform,“ said Meng. “The SKILLS Visa Act, Legal Workforce Act and other GOP bills are unacceptable, and will do nothing to fix our broken immigration system. These bills show a shocking misunderstanding of not only the value of family, diversity visas and how much immigrants contribute to our economy, but they would also place undue burdens on businesses, create hurdles to employment and encourage discrimination of legal immigrants. I urge Republicans in the House to reverse course and follow the Senate’s lead by passing a comprehensive reform package so that a full and meaningful overhaul of our nation’s immigration laws can finally become reality.”
The press conference consisted of Members of Congress from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), known collectively as the Congressional Tri-Caucus. Meng is a member of CAPAC.
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