No shut-down in the battle for immigration reform

On October 2nd, House Democrats introduced a bipartisan bill on comprehensive immigration reform similar to the Senate bipartisan bill that passed in June, but without the extreme border surge provisions and militarization that had been included in the final version.

“This entire year, families and communities in Iowa and across the United States have stepped out of the shadows and done incredible work pushing for a path to citizenship,” said Constantino Morales, a CCI member from Des Moines. “It is now time for Speaker Boehner and the House Republican leaders to do their part and bring this vote to the floor.”

The bill introduced today has border security provisions that were already approved in the House Homeland Security Committee on a bipartisan basis.  It constitutes a serious proposal that, if given a vote, could pass the House of Representatives with more than 218 votes and fix our broken immigration system.

“This fight for reform is personal. It’s about Iowa’s families and communities,” said Morales. “Iowans want fair immigration reform that keeps families together, protects workers’ rights and provides a path to citizenship for all 11 million hopeful Americans.”

As part of a powerful national month of action in August, CCI members ramped up the pressure on Iowa’s Congressional delegation, especially on Representative Tom Latham. During the recess, over 100 CCI members engaged Latham by sharing their stories at face-to-face meetings, town halls, office visits, phone calls and postcards.

“Congress will not shut down our determination to fix the country’s broken immigration system and get a pathway to citizenship for 11 million hopeful Americans. Our hard work this whole year and during the August recess has gotten us to a critial point,” said Morales.  “We will keep fighting until the path to citizenship is a reality.”

Since the beginning of this year, Iowa CCI members have held dozens of meetings across Iowa, engaged hundreds of immigrants, weighed in with Iowa’s Congressional delegation in Washington D.C., joined with ally groups for demonstrations and marches and have been at the forefront of pushing for fair immigration reform that puts families and communities first.