LOS ANGELES, CA –The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund issued the following statement regarding the announcement by U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) of his core principles for comprehensive immigration reform legislation:

“We praise Representative Gutierrez for continuing to provide critical leadership that is sustaining the momentum in our nation’s dialogue about comprehensive immigration reform. Many of the core principles he outlined resonate with those articulated by our Board as the framework for achieving fair and humane policies to fix our broken immigration system. We strongly support comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to U.S. citizenship for those immigrants who have played by the rules and are contributing to our society. We also envision a system which promotes family reunification and reduces immigration backlogs; provides a meaningful opportunity for immigrant students to pursue a college education; protects our national security with effective and fair enforcement measures; and promotes the civic integration of newcomers.

“We also believe that comprehensive immigration reform provides an important opportunity to ensure that our nation’s naturalization process is accessible and affordable for all eligible legal permanent residents. We must make fundamental changes in our system of financing immigration services to address the exorbitant naturalization fee which is putting the dream of U.S. citizenship beyond the reach of many newcomers. We must enhance our national security and the efficiency of the naturalization process by providing for greater accountability in the background checks that are conducted on applicants for U.S. citizenship. We must promote fair policies and procedures for assessing the English language and civics skills of naturalization applicants. Finally, we must establish a national program to promote U.S. citizenship and help community organizations provide a wide range of naturalization education, outreach and assistance services to our nation’s newcomers

“While we have more to learn about the specifics of Representative Gutierrez’ proposal, we hope that his principles serve as a catalyst for the Congressional action on comprehensive immigration reform that our nation urgently needs. Comprehensive immigration reform must be a top priority on our policy agenda, and the White House and Congress must start the hard work of crafting legislation right now. We also look forward to learning about the perspectives of Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and other key leaders who are working to move legislation forward this year.”

About NALEO Educational Fund
The NALEO Educational Fund is the nation's leading non-partisan, non-profit organization that facilitates the full participation of Latinos in the American political process, from citizenship to public service.