Comprehensive Immigration Reform

America has always been a nation of immigrants. Over the years, millions of people have come here in the hope that in America, you can make it if you try. Each successive wave of immigrants has contributed to our country's rich culture, economy and spirit. Like the immigrants that came before them, today's immigrants will shape their own destinies and enrich our country.

Nonetheless, our current immigration system has been broken for far too long. We need comprehensive immigration reform, not just piecemeal efforts. We cannot continue to allow people to enter the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked.

The American people are a welcoming and generous people, but those who enter our country's borders illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of the law. We need to secure our borders, and support additional personnel, infrastructure, and technology on the border and at our ports of entry. We need additional Customs and Border Protection agents equipped with better technology and real-time intelligence. We need to dismantle human smuggling organizations, combating the crime associated with this trade. We also need to do more to promote economic development in migrant-sending nations, to reduce incentives to come to the United States illegally. And we need to crack down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants. It's a problem when we only enforce our laws against the immigrants themselves, with raids that are ineffective, tear apart families, and leave people detained without adequate access to counsel. We realize that employers need a method to verify whether their employees are legally eligible to work in the United States, and we will ensure that our system is accurate, fair to legal workers, safeguards people's privacy, and cannot be used to discriminate against workers.

For the millions living here illegally but otherwise playing by the rules, we must require them to come out of the shadows and get right with the law. We support a system that requires undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, pay taxes, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens. They are our neighbors, and we can help them become full tax-paying, law-abiding, productive members of society.

The Latest »

Bush's Final Press Conference

January 12, 2009 - George Bush delivered his final press conference of his presidency this morning shortly after reports showing that he oversaw the weakest economy in decades.
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McCain Claims He Hasn't Flipped on Anything from 2000

October 23, 2008 - John McCain told the local CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. that ''I'm the same guy'' from 2000, claiming that he hasn't flipped on any issue since his last run for the presidency.
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Immigration ''Hard-Liner'' Steve King on McCain: ''He's On Board''

September 9, 2008 - According to news reports, immigration hard-liner U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, says GOP presidential candidate John McCain -- who had been at odds with King and many others in his party over the issue -- is now on board.
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Clinton Nomination Speech: Dolores Huerta

August 27, 2008 - Civil rights activist Dolores Huerta nominates Senator Hillary Clinton for Democratic presidential candidate.
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John Chiang

August 26, 2008 - California State Controller John Chiang talks about Barack Obama's immigrant heritage, an unlikely story that is also his story, our story -- the American story.
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McCain versus McCain on the DREAM Act

July 14, 2008 - John McCain spoke at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Annual Conference this afternoon in San Diego. In the Q&A session following his prepared remarks, a young woman from the group One Dream 2009, asked John McCain, if he...
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AUDIO OF CONFERENCE CALL REMARKS: BECERRA (D-CA) AND MEDINA RESPOND MCCAIN'S SPEECH AT NCLR

July 14, 2008 - Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and Eliseo Medina held a conference call today to respond to John McCain's speech at NCLR, and call for straight talk from the GOP candidate on his promise of a third Bush term and contradictions on immigration reform.
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MCCAIN WATCH: IMMIGRATION: JOHN MCCAIN WILL SAY ANYTHING TO WIN

July 14, 2008 - John McCain may be trying to turn the page on the disastrous week he just had, but this week is shaping up to be no better. Today, Senator McCain will walk a tightrope at the National Council of La Raza's annual conference in San Diego. McCain's recent double talk on immigration is proof he will say anything to get elected. That dissonance was on display yesterday on a campaign conference call where one of McCain's advisors touted border security measures in a bill McCain is co-sponsoring with Senator Lindsey Graham. According to the AP, that bill also includes making undocumented status a criminal misdemeanor, something very different from the comprehensive approach the candidate is likely to emphasize at La Raza today.
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MCCAIN WATCH: ON THE ECONOMY OR IMMIGRATION, YOU JUST CAN'T TRUST JOHN MCCAIN

July 8, 2008 - It's only Tuesday, but already the week isn't going so well for John McCain. Yesterday, Senator McCain rolled out his "Bush on Steroids" economic plan which the Wall Street Journal called a "repackage proposals he has already outlined." But rather than strengthen the economy and provide tax relief for hard-working families, Senator McCain's plan is more of the same tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy that will take our country further into debt and not do anything to help the Middle Class. And McCain's claim that he can balance the budget by 2013 is just plain wrong--as one reporter wrote, it's "unclear how Mr. McCain plans" to do so. [Wall Street Journal, 7/5/08, New York Times' The Caucus Blog, 7/7/08] With senior economic advisor Carly Fiorina's fuzzy math, no wonder McCain's math doesn't add up, something the DNC illustrates on its new website "McCain Math:" http://mccainmath.com.
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McCain vs. McCain

June 30, 2008 - I suppose the upside to McCain's non-stop flip-flopping on immigration is that it makes for good web videos. He almost makes it too easy:
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