Civil and Human Rights Coalition Urges House to Support Immigration Reform Bill

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights expressed its support last week for H.R. 15, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” which closely follows the legislative package passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this year. 

“For many years, comprehensive immigration reform has stood out as one of the highest legislative priorities – and one of the most pressing moral imperatives – of the civil and human rights movement,” the letter states. “The task of getting immigration reform right requires a careful and delicate balancing of numerous policy objectives.”

The letter explains that this bill would make significant improvements in the lives of immigrants, including giving hardworking immigrants a roadmap to citizenship, enacting the DREAM Act, providing much-needed protections for laborers, and improving immigration detention policies.

Despite the House’s stalling, a majority of Americans still support CIR with a roadmap to citizenship. A recent poll found support at about 71 percent.