Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today called on the U.S. House of Representatives to take up and pass a bill to fix our broken immigration system similar to the bipartisan bill passed in the Senate.
“In Colorado and across the country there is vast agreement that our immigration system is broken and must be fixed. It doesn’t meet the needs of our economy or live up to our nation’s heritage of immigrants.
“As members of the House continue to discuss their options, I encourage them to take a serious look at what we were able to accomplish in the Senate. They may learn that this bipartisan bill secures the border – as border state senators John McCain and Jeff Flake will attest to – boosts the economy and protects American workers. It also establishes a sensible path forward for millions of immigrants who have come to this county for a better life but are living in the shadows. The tough but fair path to citizenship will allow these immigrants to contribute to our economy and society and it can’t be completed until border security and interior enforcement measures are met.
“This is our best chance in a generation to fix this broken system and affirm that we are a nation that respects the rule of law and a nation of immigrants. We should not let politics get in the way.”
Bennet is a member of the bipartisan ‘Group of 8’ (four Republicans and four Democrats) that wrote and introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 in April. The bill passed the Senate last month with broad bipartisan support in a 68-32 vote.