Congress is once again turning to the issue of immigration reform. Today the Senate held a hearing in the judiciary committee in order to hear Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez testify about a structured plan for immigration reform which tracks the plan supported by the President.
So far there has been no substantive legislation presented to either house in Congress. Both chambers are expected to present comprehensive, bipartisan bills for immigration reform in March.
I will be traveling to DC on March 15th along with hundreds of my AILA colleagues and our clientele to lobby Congress to pass fair and comprehensive immigration reform. I firmly support reform which, among many other areas, creates more employment-based visas and reduces the serious backlogs in the visa system, which allows families to be reunited, which allows the hard-working undocumented population in the United States to obtain legal status in the United States, and which returns judicial review to immigration cases. My list for areas for reform goes on and on.
Peace,
Elizabeth
