The following is a press statement from United We DREAM:
DREAMers Challenge Sen. Cornyn’s Hypocritical Maneuvering Intended to Kill Immigration Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C.– With news today that Senator Cornyn plans to introduce sweeping changes to the border security provisions of the Senate immigration reform, attacking the already heavily negotiated bipartisan bill that goes much too far on border militarization as it is, United We Dream is pushing back. Julieta Garibay, United We Dream’s Legislative Affairs Associate and a DREAMer from Texas, released the following statement:
Senator John Cornyn’s proposed changes to the immigration bill—extreme and unworkable measures that would jeopardize the path to citizenship and further militarize our border—are thinly veiled attempts to kill the bill. This bipartisan proposal already dedicates more government money to excessive border security than ever before and will continue to criminalize our communities.
DREAMers from his own state of Texas and across the country are outraged that he is attempting to masquerade as a reasonable negotiator on immigration reform when his obstructionist agenda is clear. It’s time for leaders of both parties to distance themselves from Senator Coryn’s antics and move forward with passing a bill that creates a real roadmap to citizenship, keeps families together and reunites families who’ve been separated, and ends senseless deportations and abuses.
Our nation is in need of real leaders with the courage to do the right thing for our families. Senator Cornyn is the opposite of what we need—a hypocrite who’s determined to stall the momentum our movement has built. After years of blocking progress on immigration reform and pushing policies that harm our families, Senator Cornyn has made his record clear and DREAMers will not tolerate his continued obstruction.
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The following is a press statement from Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance (RITA):
Texas Senators’ Recent Actions Put Them At Odds with Texas Families and American Values
Instead of standing up for the kind of reform that Texans demand, Cornyn and Cruz are fighting for more criminalization and militarization
Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are continuing their out-of-touch assault on the bipartisan push for immigration reform. In doing so, they are in direct opposition to what the majority of Texans and Americans want.
Sen. Cruz joined other anti-immigrant extremists in the Senate by releasing a letter that says the bill doesn’t go far enough to militarize the border and rejects the pathway to citizenship that an ever growing majority of Americans support. In it, he re-affirms that he rejects immigration reform and isn’t interested in solving anything. In a state like Texas, this means fighting against the interests of millions of Texas families and Latino voters.
Meanwhile, Sen. Cornyn seems determined to derail the bill’s progress. Cornyn filed an amendment that would aggressively and completely seal the border. His amendment would also block the pathway to citizenship until a set of militarization goals are met on the border. The type of border Cornyn is trying to create puts all Americans’ rights on the line and would sacrifice an important part of the Texas state economy.
Both senators insist on repeating a 25-year-old talking point that the border must be secured first. “But a lot has changed on the border since 1986,” said Fernando Garcia, executive director of Border Network for Human Rights and executive committee member of RITA. “For the senators to call for more militarization shows that they are out-of-touch with the reality on the ground. They certainly don’t seem to be talking about the Texas-Mexico border that we see.”
RITA calls on the senators to listen to Texans and stop their attempts to derail or kill immigration reform.
