Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urged Democrats to move ahead on immigration reform.
“If my 2010 reelection to the Senate proved anything, it was that Democrats can fight and win on immigration. It makes policy sense and political sense and not just with Latino voters, but also with Americans of all backgrounds,” said Reid.
“However, the operative word is ‘win.’ With Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, Americans expect Democrats to deliver this time on sensible immigration policies,” he added.
Reid said voters could punish Democrats if they fail to deliver on immigration reform, and two different proposals, which offered legal permanent residency to millions of undocumented immigrants and immigrants on humanitarian visas, were ruled, per the Senate parliamentarian, incompatible with the rules of reconciliation.
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“By 3-to-1 margins and across party lines, Americans want legal status for immigrants who have worked hard, paid taxes and made their lives in the United States. After decades of waiting to fix this broken immigration system, the voters that rejected Donald Trump’s nativism, and gave power to Democrats, are not going to give us a free pass if all we come back with are procedural excuses,” said Reid.
“I have seen the human and economic consequences of this broken system. The current system rips families apart, destroys otherwise prosperous businesses, and keeps millions of hardworking people fearing deportation. We must fix this. This is the year. The time is now,” he concluded.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
