It is time for the U.S. House of Representatives to join the Senate in passing comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship. The bipartisan immigration bill passed by the Senate provides legal status for many undocumented immigrants, allowing them to continue to work and live in the United States while working toward citizenship.
The proposed pathway is lengthy and requires tax compliance, background checks and a hefty fee. However, it is cause for hope for those who apply. And it would slow down, if not end, the fragmenting of Hispanic families when a father, a mother, a brother or sister is deported. Family unity should be a critical piece of immigration legislation.
Since the beginning of time, humans have migrated when life becomes untenable. It is often a response to economic and social structures that they have no control over. Current estimates claim there are 11 million undocumented people living in the United States. Mostly, these are hardworking, law-abiding, tax-paying people who want a better life for themselves and their families than is possible in their native country.
Recent studies have shown how a pathway to citizenship benefits us all. It is time to do the right thing for those who continue to enrich our communities. It is time to fix a broken system and treat our immigrant neighbors with dignity and respect.
Don Baldus
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Mazeppa
