Dearborn Group Supports Immigration Reform Bill

A bipartisan bill that would seek to provide millions of illegal immigrants with a path to citizenship was unveiled in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

According to Reuters.com, the bill tightens border security, forces employers to verify their workers’ legal status and allows illegal immigrants to apply for a 13-year path to citizenship.

The news organization reports that undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before Dec. 31, 2011, and had stayed in the country continuously could apply for "provisional" legal status as soon as six months after the bill is signed by President Obama.

Illegal immigrants would have to wait up to 10-12 years before applying for full citizenship.

"After years of working and waiting, introduction of an immigration reform bill signifies important progress. It represents a meeting of diverse minds, a universal acknowledgement of the importance of this effort, and an increasingly rare willingness to reach across the aisle," Hassan Jaber, executive director of ACCESS in Dearborn said.

"As this measure moves forward, we must ensure that important measures remain intact or are added. Specifically, families must be kept together, the visa backlog must be reduced, and racial profiling must be firmly and finally put to rest," Jaber added. "By including these important points, we are on the path toward a more humane, more just nation that ranks immigrant family values among the values we respect, support and cherish for all families."

Nadia Tonova, director of the National Network for Arab American Communities, said the legislation is a step in the right direction.

"By providing a pathway to citizenship, we are sending a strong message that the United States continues to honor the foundation on which this country has grown: the labor and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants," Tonova said.

The full story is available on the Reuters website.

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