MALDEF REACTS TO BIPARTISAN SENATE FRAMEWORK AS POSITIVE STARTING POINT ON NEEDED IMMIGRATION REFORM IN 2013

MALDEF

President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz Issues Statement

LOS ANGELES, CA -MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement of a bipartisan framework for immigration reform:

“MALDEF welcomes the bipartisan framework for immigration reform released by eight United States senators today. The framework provides a useful starting point for fruitful discussion and concrete action on federal immigration reform in 2013. In particular, the recognition of the necessity of providing legal protection and a pathway to citizenship for the millions of immigrants who have lived here and contributed to our economy and society without fully-protected legal status is a critical pillar of reform.

Of course, the details of enacted legislation must arise after vigorous and informed debate and discussion, but the bipartisan framework sets forth basic principles that can form the foundation for much-needed reform. MALDEF looks forward to participating in the debate that will build out the parameters of legislation to be enacted this year. In particular, we will work toward ensuring that adopted reform recognizes and addresses all of the elements of our current immigration system that are at odds with our nation's constitutional principles, including the continued proliferation of state and local anti-immigrant laws and policies that undermine our nationally-determined policies, enforcement of family unification policies that discriminate against LGBT couples, and the application of a quota system that continues to create widely divergent waiting periods based solely on country of origin for those eligible to immigrate legally.”

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the "law firm of the Latino community," MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org.