(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, Thursday, May 22nd, 2014, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Harry Reid (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Charles Schumer (D-NY) held a press conference to mark 329 days since the Senate passed common sense immigration reform that reduces the deficit, creates jobs, and provides a path to earned citizenship for over 11 million undocumented immigrants in America.
“There are many, many reasons to pass this legislation, but most of all, we need to show the American people that our country can work, that we can fix laws that don’t work, and that we have an obligation as leaders to step up to it. I hope that the Republicans in the House caucus will stand up and say it is time to do this,” Senator Murray said.
On June 27th, 2013, the U.S. Senate passed historic, bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation by a vote of 68-32. An estimated 230,000 undocumented immigrants live in Washington state. They are more than five percent of Washington’s adult workforce and an important part of our state’s social fabric. Washington state is also home to an estimated 35,000 DREAMers, undocumented immigrations who were brought to the U.S. as children.
Read Sen. Murray’s statement from Senate passage.
Full text of Senator Murray’s remarks:
“I know that the extreme voices in the House Republican caucus get nervous and get upset every time the word immigration reform is uttered. But, hopefully House Republicans will pay more attention to the vast majority of the American people. And that we can get this done.
“There isn’t anyone that I know in Washington state who thinks that the current law works. Everybody in America knows it is broken.
“Whether it is our companies – our high tech companies – who know that they can’t get the workforce to help create jobs here because of the current system. Or, it is our agriculture sector who can’t, literally, pick the crops in our fields because of our broken system. Or the many, many families who are torn apart by the current system that doesn’t reflect the realities of making sure we keep the values of this country when it comes to our families and taking care of them.
“So even though this is an election year, I really hope that the House Republican caucus can stand up and do the right thing, and do what the American people expect us to do, whether it’s a budget agreement or what other challenge we have, and that is to work to fix a problem.
“Sen. Reid, our leader, has offered a compromise in the spirit of compromise that doesn’t reflect what all of us want…but it is a compromise offer and ought to be taken up by the House and passed.
“And for all of those fiscal conservatives out there who are not coming to the plate on this, I just want to remind them that the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Senate bill on immigration would not only grow our economy, it would reduce the deficit by nearly $1 trillion over the next two decades.
“So there are many, many reasons to pass this legislation, but most of all, we need to show the American people that our country can work, that we can fix laws that don’t work, and that we have an obligation as leaders to step up to it. I hope that the Republicans in the House caucus will stand up and say it is time to do this.”
English 
Spanish