Washington, DC - The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund issued the following statement in response to the announcement by the United States Senate that an immigration reform bill, The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007, will be brought to the Senate floor for debate on Monday, May 21:

“The NALEO Educational Fund believes that The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 provides the U.S. Senate with an opportunity to proceed with debate on comprehensive immigration reform, even though the legislation contains many major and serious flaws. We strongly oppose Title V of the compromise on immigration reform reached yesterday by members of the U.S. Senate and the White House, because it makes deep cuts to the family immigration system and prohibits many U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents from reuniting with their family members. The bill replaces much of our current immigration system, where most immigrants can obtain legal permanent residency on the basis of ties to family or employers, with a point system which provides visas on the basis of education, work skills, family, English language ability, and other factors. Family reunification is a fundamental cornerstone of our nation’s legal immigration system. The current push to comprehensively reform that system must not mean abandoning its very foundation, but rather strengthening its structure so that the American economy and American families can thrive.

“The NALEO Educational Fund also opposes Title IV of the bill which establishes a new temporary worker program which, while providing future workers with legal status and labor protections, does not provide them a path to legal permanent residency. This new system will create conditions that will lead to a rapidly increasing pool of undocumented immigrants in the future and creates a pool of second class non-citizens, defeating the goals of this reform. We believe that true comprehensive immigration reform that contains a temporary worker program must provide workers with full labor and civil rights protections, and the opportunity to pursue legal permanent residency in the United States.

“The NALEO Educational Fund also has serious concerns over other aspects of the compromise bill, but believes that The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 presents an opportunity to address comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. Senate. The NALEO Educational Fund has adopted principles on comprehensive immigration reform [click here] that provide a road map to the work that needs to be done on this important national issue, including the need for a path to U.S. citizenship for those immigrants who have played by the rules and are contributing to our society. Our principles 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 urge members of the U.S. Senate to work toward those principles for true comprehensive immigration reform.