Immigration reform

June 28, 2007 -- THE PRESIDENT: I thank the members of the Senate and members of my administration who worked so hard on the border security and immigration reform bill. I'm sorry the Senate was unable to reach agreement on the bill this morning.

Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people and Congress's failure to act on it is a disappointment. The American people understand the status quo is unacceptable when it comes to our immigration laws. A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find a common ground -- it didn't work.    » read more »

June 28, 2007 -- "I am very disappointed to learn that Congress will not be able to complete its work on much needed comprehensive immigration reform. We are a nation of immigrants and we should be proud of our country’s tradition and roots.

I believe in comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to earned citizenship and a process that encourages and promotes self-sufficiency and enables our immigrant population to continue contributing fully to our society. Family reunification should be a priority not an afterthought.    » read more »

June 27, 2007 -- Washington, DC– The following is a statement issued by Senator Jim Webb following the vote on his amendment to the immigration bill, which would have narrowed the scope of the bill’s legalization program and eliminated the touchback requirement:

“My amendment sought a workable middle ground on which to unite the extremes in this highly emotional immigration debate. It was important for me to leave a clear marker in terms of why the immigration bill, as it is currently drafted, holds significant flaws.    » read more »

Senators' Measure To Get Rid Of REAL ID Stalls Sweeping Immigration Bill

June 27, 2007 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester brought the debate over immigration reform to a grinding halt today on the Senate floor. After opponents of Baucus and Tester’s amendment to strike REAL ID requirements failed to muster a majority of votes, debate on the controversial immigration bill came to a standstill.    » read more »

June 27, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC—As the Senate debates immigration reform, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined Senators Kennedy and Salazar in the final push to fix our broken system. As Mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa knows the problem up close and understand that if this bill doesn’t pass it will be years before we have the chance again. He is helping the Senators pass this important bill -- a record investment in border security.

Below are Senator Kennedy’s remarks at this press conference, as prepared for delivery:    » read more »

June 27, 2007 -- Washington, DC – In remarks on the Senate Floor, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today expressed her support for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill.

Senator Feinstein stressed the importance of securing our nation’s borders, increasing interior enforcement, and providing reliable employer verification documents. Senator Feinstein also noted that the legislation would establish a path to legalization for the 12 million undocumented people currently living and working in the United States.    » read more »

June 27, 2007 -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement after the Senate voted to move forward on the comprehensive immigration reform bill.

In the statement Dean reaffirmed the Democratic Party's support for comprehensive reform that restores order to the border, protects workers and their wages, stops dividing families, and allows hard working immigrants who pay taxes and obey the law the opportunity to apply for legalization and eventually earn the responsibilities of citizenship:    » read more »

June 26, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a key player in the immigration debate, today voted in favor of cloture to resume consideration of immigration reform legislation. Cloture was agreed to by a 64-35 vote. Later this week, the Senate will have to take another cloture vote to proceed to a final vote on the bill.

Sen. Menendez, a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform who has expressed serious concerns that the legislative process has leaned to the far right this year, made the following statement:    » read more »

Joel Kaplan, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Via Teleconference

June 25, 2007 -- MR. STANZEL: I appreciate everyone's patience, and thank you for joining us today. I'm joined here by Joel Kaplan, who is Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy at the White House, and has been very involved in the immigration effort. And he'll start off with some opening thoughts, but we really want to provide this opportunity to you to get the perspective of the White House as the Senate brings comprehensive immigration reform back up for consideration this week.    » read more »

Washington, DC June 11, 2007 — Senate Democratic leaders sent the following letter to President Bush today, calling on him to show greater leadership and persuade Senate Republicans to not block efforts to pass tough, fair and practical immigration reform. Democrats are working to strengthen border security, reunite families, create tough and smart workplace enforcement, and bring 12 million people out of the shadows of our society.

The text of the letter is below.

June 11, 2007

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:    » read more »