New Dems Call on Issa, Goodlatte to Strengthen House Immigration Reform
40 Members of the New Democrat Coalition sent a letter to Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa and Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, urging them to bring the GOP-led “piecemeal” approach to immigration reform closer in line with the comprehensive immigration reform package passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In the letter, led by New Dem Chair Ron Kind (WI-03) and Immigration Task Force Chairs Jared Polis (CO-02), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), and Joe Garcia (FL-26), the New Dems called for a House bill to reflect the Coalition’s recently-released principles for a comprehensive immigration reform package focused on growth, efficiency, fairness, and inclusion. The letter argues that H.R. 2131, the SKILLS Visa Act, fails to address critical elements contained in the Senate immigration bill that would strengthen America’s ability to compete and win in the global economy.
The New Dems wrote, “The Senate’s bill contains important new visa programs including a startup visa and other programs focused on attracting entrepreneurs to our country and retaining more individuals with a STEM degree from U.S. educational institutions, so as to retain our brightest students instead of sending them back to their home countries in order to compete against us in the global economy. The Senate bill would also do more to quickly and efficiently reduce the current green card backlog at many innovative U.S. companies by, among other things, recapturing unused employment-based immigrant visas.”
The letter also urges House leaders to strengthen family-based immigration as part of a final, bipartisan product in the House. “The founders and first employees of Google, Intel, Yahoo!, and eBay are immigrants who came to this country legally through family-based visas or as refugees and have helped to create jobs for American workers,” the New Dems wrote.
To read a copy of the letter, click here.
The New Democrat Coalition is dedicated to maintaining America’s standing as the world’s strongest, most successful nation. Founded in 1997, the New Dems believe firmly in the power of American ingenuity and innovation, and are focused on finding ways to foster and harness this creativity to grow our economy, create new American jobs, and ensure a safer and more secure future for our country.
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