Press Releases

CBC Members Speak on Immigration Reform

February 5, 2013 –

 On February 4, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus spoke on the importance of comprehensive immigration reform legislation and on the diversity within the immigrant community in America:

“The promise of the American Dream is what brings people from all corners of the world to this nation,” CBC Chair Marcia Fudge (OH-11) said. “But for the millions of undocumented immigrants of Hispanic, Asian and African descent living in America today, the American dream is just a promise, a promise they hope their children may one day realize.”

“Sometimes the immigration reform debate has been characterized as perhaps just a Latino issue, at other times it’s been characterized as perhaps an Asian issue. There are times the immigration reform debate is characterized as an eastern European issue.” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY -08) said. “But really immigration reform is an American issue. It cuts to the heart of who we are and what we will become.”

“The warden of a broken system does not encumber one group of citizens alone,” Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-11) said.  “If we turn our backs on those law-abiding contributors to our civil society that come to our shores only to embrace the American dream, to labor and rebuild our nation and strengthen our economy, to serve honorably in our military, we turn our backs on ourselves and on our future.”

“In my district, people migrate from all over the globe, not just from Latin America, but from the Caribbean and Africa, as well as Asia, and they are all in search of the same thing. They are in pursuit of the American Dream,” Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (NJ-10) said. “Children, who are brought here through no fault of their own and think of themselves as Americans, wait in limbo. So we have a moral obligation to fix our system. It is not only the right thing to do, but it’s the practical thing to do.”

“Comprehensive immigration reform is about accountability and responsible public policy. It is not feasible, economical, or moral to propose the deportation of 11 million people who are living and working hard in our country,” Rep. Marc Veasey (TX-33) said. “What reform calls for is responsible public policy that provides certainty to employers that the people wanting to work are legally eligible to do so, thereby bringing a significant population of our country out of the shadows.”

“On these points about the issue of where we can come together and where there are distinctions is to raise the factor of how serious and difficult this process may be, the Congressional Black Caucus will be pivotal in its role,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee  (TX-18) said. “One, because it is the conscience of this Congress. Two, because we have the uncanny ability of seeing from a broader perspective with what we have gone through in our lifetime, what our communities go through. We’ve seen discrimination and we are sympathetic and sensitive to how we can help others.”

“As Dr. King said, an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. It is that creed of the civil rights movement that still motivates us today,” Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04) said. “So today, we take up the cause of joining arms with our immigrant brothers and sisters in that spirit. The time is now to lend a hand to those who confront injustice as a result of a broken immigration system.”

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