Yesterday, during a press conference, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner was asked about immigration reform. Boehner told reporters, “Frankly, I’ll make clear, we have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill.”
While immigration reform has hit a roadblock in the House of Representatives, deportations continue to tear families apart, with two million deportations resulting in three million orphaned children. Despite Boehner’s stance, it’s critical that our elected leaders act and bring comprehensive immigration reform to our communities.
Today, the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights issued a statement, stating that “in the November 2012 elections, Speaker Boehner pledged to move forward on immigration reform. The Speaker and his House leadership colleagues have had a year to pass legislation.  The Senate has already passed a bill that includes a path to citizenship.  A majority of House members support a comprehensive bill. Yet Speaker Boehner cannot get the job done, and has now given up for the year.”
The Resurrection Project and its immigration reform coalition partners working with the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights will continue to fight to keep families together. Following yesterday’s statement by Speaker Boehner, two teenage immigrant advocates cornered him at breakfast and questioned him on his decision to stall immigration reform. See what he had to say to them…
In the meantime, it is important for all of us to continue pressuring our elected leaders into taking action. With 1,100 deportations daily, immigration reform needs to happen now, not next year. The Resurrection Project and its partners urge you to contact your elected leaders and tell them you demand that they pass comprehensive immigration reform.