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Sen. Heller: 'Nation Needs Immigration Reform, Gang of 8 Bill May Be Our Answer'

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Asian and Latino leaders in Nevada have asked him to support immigration reform.  He’s met with key DREAMers and told them that he likes the Gang of 8 immigration bill so far.  Now Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) is making the most public statement he has to date about where he stands on immigration reform.

In an op-ed at the Las Vegas Review-Journal today, Heller wrote that “the comprehensive immigration proposal currently under consideration in the Senate is actually very much a product of bipartisanship.  Our nation needs comprehensive immigration reform, and the immigration reform proposal championed by the ‘Gang of Eight’ just may be our answer.”

Continuing, he wrote:

When it comes to fixing our immigration system, I believe that most Nevadans actually agree on about 80 percent of the policy. It’s that other 20 percent where we disagree that tends to become the focus. I’ve been encouraged to see this particular piece of legislation continue to move through the regular legislative process and hope it continues.  The fact is, we have an immigration system that is broken and must be fixed.

While Heller’s op-ed takes a slightly clearer stance than he has before, it’s a far cry from where his fellow Senator from Nevada, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, is on immigration reform.  Reid has committed to do “everything in my power to help this bill become law,” while Heller’s op-ed leaves him plenty of wiggle room to eventually vote for or against the bill.

Over the weekend, the immigrant rights group Mi Familia Vota and their Executive Director Ben Monterroso released this statement urging Sen. Heller to clarify his stance on immigration reform and to unequivocally support the Gang of 8 bill with a path to citizenship.  Mi Familia Vota works primarily across states in the Southwest, including Nevada:

We call on Sen. Heller to join the vast majority of Americans—including Gov. Brian Sandoval—who want a solution to our broken immigration system and support S 744, keeping intact an earned pathway to citizenship for 11 million aspiring Americans living in the United States undocumented.

Voting YES on S 744 would protect American workers, keep families together, and give businesses the tools to compete in a global economy. It can bring hardworking immigrants into the system through a rigorous but fair process that ends in full U.S. citizenship, and the rights and responsibilities that comes with it.

While Sen. Heller is home this week during the congressional recess, we welcome the chance to work with him and his office to clarify his position. We hope he and his colleagues do the right thing for our families, communities, and country and pass S 744 to finally fix our broken immigration system once and for all.