It’s About People, Not Politics: Today’s vote won’t solve the problem unless it’s paired with action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2018

CONTACT
Hayley Burgess, [email protected], 202-805-0375

It’s About People, Not Politics

Today’s vote won’t solve the problem unless it’s paired with action

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators today voted to approve a continuing resolution to fund the federal government for another three weeks. The House of Representatives is expected to take up the measure shortly. This legislation includes a measure to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six years, and a commitment from Senate leadership to bring immigration measures to a vote in the near future.

Below is a statement from Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center:

“On Friday night, senators on both sides of the aisle took a stand against Trump’s divisive, xenophobic agenda and made a bold call for the Senate to do its job.

“This display of resolve was short-lived. Today, although the government is reopening, senators have done nothing to address the Trump-created crisis that leaves hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth at imminent threat of deportation.

“Those who voted in favor of a continuing resolution based on the promise of a future immigration vote put their faith in the hands of those who have proven themselves unreliable in the past. The Trump agenda, which Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell have doggedly enacted, is built on misdirection and xenophobia, not forthrightness and compromise.

“Our communities need more than bold gestures and empty promises. We need action right now. It’s not enough to say pro-Dreamer things and issue strong statements. We need a legislative solution that addresses our real needs, without using this crisis as an opportunity to ram through a white nationalist wish list.

“Republicans are being disingenuous when they ask for more time to discuss this. The Dream Act has been discussed for nearly two decades. We know. We were there when it was first introduced by Senator Durbin in 2001. We — along with our communities — put faith in Senate proceedings, only to see those sound policy proposals die in the legislative graveyard of the House of Representatives. A solution for immigrant youth should have been reached 16 years ago. Our elected officials should be done talking.

“The fight is more urgent now than ever before. We remain as committed as ever to continue to fight alongside our communities — both in the halls of Congress and in the courts — to defend immigrant youth and their families.”

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