Baca announces support for comprehensive immigration reform bill

Baca announces support for comprehensive immigration reform bill

Washington -- Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto) announced his support Thursday for the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, a comprehensive, bicameral and bipartisan immigration reform bill.

"Our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. This legislation provides real, long-lasting reform that offers hard working people of good character a path towards citizenship," said Rep. Baca. "Clearly our immigration system is not working. It doesn't work for native-born Americans, and it doesn't work for immigrants."

The bill updates our antiquated immigration system for the 21st century. It will secure the border, strengthen national security, reduce the backlog of visa applications, provide a path to legal status for immigrants and allow for family reunification.

"If we are to truly stop illegal immigration, we must first take on the underground economy that exists in American today," said Rep. Baca. "By creating a pathway for immigrants to become legal residents, we will be able to track who is in our country, and improve national security. It is not an amnesty - these workers must prove that they are not a security threat, and they must pay fines and move to the back of the line for visa applications."

"I am pleased to see that the bill includes a provision to eliminate the exploitation of immigrants by notarios. I carried H.R. 1464 in the 108th Congress, which would have required for this, and also would have moved to a paperless visa application system."

"I hope that the Republican leadership in the House and the Senate will allow this legislation to be brought up for a vote. We cannot ignore the problems that our immigration system faces. Congress must deal with them in a realistic way."

http://www.house.gov/baca/latestnews/release050513a-immigrationreformbill.htm