Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi met today with Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to reiterate House Democrat’s commitment to comprehensive immigration reform. Below are her remarks as prepared: “Today I join my colleagues of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to reiterate House Democrats’ commitment to comprehensive immigration reform. The time to pass comprehensive immigration reform is now.”ÂÂ
“That means we must secure our borders and enforce our laws, while also protecting against discrimination and adhering to the rule of law. It means that we must regularize the status of the 12 million undocumented immigrants who now work and live here, and establish a rigorous but real path to citizenship. It means we must promote family values and family unification. And it means that we must meet our economy’s need for additional workers when there is evidence that they are needed, and there are strict labor protections for all workers.” “As the Senate begins its work, they must pass a strong bill that honors these principles that we all agree on, and upholds the American immigrant tradition. While the bipartisan Senate agreement starts the process, I have serious concerns about some elements of this proposal — the bill must be improved in the Senate. We look forward to working with the Senate on passing a strong comprehensive bill.”
“We have an obligation to the American people to pass strong bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform. The need is urgent. And the time is now.â€ÂÂÂ