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PHOTOS: Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) Holds Community Meeting on Immigration Reform

by Americas's Voice on

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Yesterday Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), quickly becoming one of our favorite House Republicans due to his newfound support of immigration reform and citizenship, held a community meeting  in California to discuss immigration and its progress in the House.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much, he acknowledged to a small group of immigration advocates and community organizers, according to the Modesto Bee.  As he said:

The Senate bill won’t get a vote in the House, and it’s something that could have helped this community.  I am frustrated. I thought we’d get this done before the August work period. I think the Senate made tremendous progress. It was done bipartisan and I thought that would be enough to get the House moving forward.

Denham also made his case for why immigration reform must contain citizenship.  Specifically, he was talking about why guest workers must be allowed access to citizenship, but he also supports creating a pathway for the 11 million Americans-in-waiting already here:

[If] legal citizenship is not the ultimate goal, then we’re turning into Dubai, where they have a class of people who come from other countries to work, but they can’t enjoy the full fruits and benefits of citizenship.

Fortunately, Denham is in a strong position to pressure his own House leadership—Kevin McCarthy, John Boener, Eric Cantor, and the like—to just hold the dang vote already.  There’s a bipartisan majority in the House that’s ready to support a path to citizenship, and the only thing standing in our way is the scheduling of a vote.

Below, view photos from advocates yesterday rallying before their meeting with the Congressman:

And photos from Facebook: