Voices of Reason Carry the Day at GOP Immigration Caucus

WASHINGTON, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 11, 2013.  As hundreds of working families and aspiring Americans rallied for commonsense immigration reform outside of the House GOP caucus meeting, Republican members considered their next steps to respond to America’s call for a vote on an immigration solution that includes a pathway to citizenship. Unlike the doom and gloom media reports prior to the meeting, the voices of Republicans opposed to citizenship were matched by those supporting a path toward legalization and a pathway to citizenship as part of a commonsense solution.

Eliseo Medina, Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

“While we knew a kumbaya moment was probably out of the question at the GOP caucus meeting today, we are pleased to hear that Speaker Boehner, Representatives Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor and other voices of reason are seeking to work on a sensible approach to a new immigration system.

“As Speaker Boehner stated at the beginning of the meeting, doing nothing on immigration is not an option. While we are encouraged by Speaker Boehner’s willingness to move forward in fixing our broken immigration system, we will continue to reiterate that the GOP has an opportunity to lift the GOP into an age of bipartisanship – and it begins with voting in favor of a pathway to citizenship.

“Communities, organizations, industries and faith groups from both sides of the aisle have come together for immigration legislation with citizenship at heart. In fact, the chanting they heard today outside of their meeting is an echo of the American public’s greater demand for commonsense immigration reform. It may fall deaf on extremists’ ears, but the rest of the members should keep their ears to the ground. It’s only going to get louder.”