Menendez Will Introduce CIR as well as DREAM Act

WASHINGTON — The Asian American Justice Center welcomes Wednesday’s announcement from Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey that he will introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation so that Congress can take up the issue this year.

“We thank Senator Menendez for moving ahead on this critical legislation,” said Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC). Asian Americans are disproportionately affected by the broken immigration system. Ten percent of our community is undocumented and husbands, wives, children, brothers and sisters are forced to wait years before they can be reunited here. We look forward to Senator Menendez’s bill creating a comprehensive reform that leads to a more sensible and humane system.”

Sen. Menendez made his announcement at a rally in Washington organized by immigration reform advocates. During the rally, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus called on Congress to pass the DREAM Act, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday he would bring to the floor as early as next week as part of a Defense Department spending bill.

“AAJC strongly supports the leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in seeking to break the logjam in Congress on immigration reform,” Narasaki said. “I want to thank the Caucus, its chairwoman, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Senators Reid and Menendez for pushing to pass the DREAM Act as the first step towards comprehensive reform.”

The DREAM Act would allow undocumented youth who were brought to this country at a very young age the opportunity to become citizens and pursue the American Dream. There are an estimated 65,000 students who graduate from high school every year without legal immigration status, including many Asian Americans. The DREAM Act would allow these high-achieving students to pursue higher education or a career in the military.

“AAJC urges Congress to act swiftly in passing the DREAM Act and use that momentum to address the larger issue at hand —that our immigration system is broken—and enact comprehensive immigration reform,” Narasaki concluded.

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