Rep. Courtney Co-Sponsors Bipartisan Legislation to Address Immigration Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) issued the following statement after co-sponsoring the bipartisan Dignity Act to fix our nation’s broken immigration system. This historic bill is the first serious bipartisan immigration solution proposed by Congress in over a decade.
“On both sides of the political aisle, there is widespread agreement that the present immigration system is broken—morally and economically.
“People seeking a new life in the United States have been met with unnavigable processes and, at times, cruel treatment. As a nation founded by refugees with a legal system centered on due process, we must ensure immigrants have a humane and achievable path to legal permanent residency and citizenship.
“In eastern Connecticut, farmers, restaurants, and hotels struggle to hire legal immigrant workers, families and spouses of U.S. citizens are needlessly separated, and foreign students educated at universities in Connecticut and across the nation are caught in the maze of contradictory rules that have not been updated to respond to the current immigration crisis since the 1980s.
“Since then, both parties have offered their own reform policies to no avail, reaffirming that a bipartisan pathway is the only way forward in a divided government to responsibly address our overburdened immigration system and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
“Congress must find commonsense agreement, which is why I have joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to co-sponsor the Dignity Act—the only bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in the House this Congress—led by Congresswomen Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and María Elvira Salazar (R-FL).
“While this bill reflects bipartisan compromises, it takes meaningful steps to improve the currently dismantled asylum system which has overwhelmed border communities; offer a reliable path to legal permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship; provide resources for effective and focused enforcement of our immigration laws; and target investments for updated technology to prevent the flow of fentanyl and other illegal substances.
“Our nation has a checkered history of welcoming new immigrants, but I believe our country is stronger because of the recurring infusion of energy and talent immigrants bring. The Dignity Act is important progress in our work to make our nation’s immigration system fair, humane, and well-functioning.
For a one-pager on the Dignity Act, click here.
For a more detailed summary of the Dignity Act, click here.
For a section-by-section breakdown of the Dignity Act, click here.
For the full text of the bill, click here.