Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet issued the following statement to mark the one-year anniversary of the Senate’s passage of its bipartisan immigration bill:
“There is no other country in the world for which immigration is so central to its history and its identity. And yet even though we agree on both sides of the aisle that our current immigration system is broken, we are still waiting for the House of Representatives to pass a bill that will help fix the problems that are plaguing our economy and hurting families across the country.
“On this day a year ago, the Senate came together and passed a bill with strong bipartisan support. It was crafted with the help of four Republicans who came to the negotiating table because it was the right thing to do for their country and the right thing for their party – in that order. The bill we passed was supported by countless organizations, from migrant workers to farmers and ranchers, from law enforcement agencies to the faith community, Latino leaders across this country, and the Chamber of Commerce to labor unions.
“Coloradans want Congress to stop posturing and pass a bill – a good bipartisan bill. Fixing our broken immigration system is long overdue, and I believe that the bipartisan solution crafted in our Senate bill will fix it just fine. It is time for the House to act.”
Bennet is a member of the bipartisan “Group of 8” that introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 last April following several months of discussions and negotiations with a diverse group of stakeholders. The bill secures our borders, includes a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, makes reforms to an outdated visa system to ensure businesses have access to the workers they need, and includes important worker protections. The Senate passed the bill last June.
Bennet’s work on the bill was informed by a statewide conversation on immigration he led that produced a set of principles called the Colorado Compact. Hundreds of statewide leaders spanning the political, business, law enforcement, agricultural, civic, and religious spectrums signed the Compact.