Lisa Madigan joins 35 attorney generals in seeking immigration reform

Quote :Thousands of people rallied in 18 states and outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, pushing Congress to help legalize the millions of undocumented foreigners living in the country, while lawmakers inside reportedly neared a consensus on an immigration reform bill.

Caption: Illinois governor Pat Quinn celebrates with students and activists after signing the Dream Act.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is the latest high-profile public official from Illinois to call for comprehensive immigration reform.

Madigan says Congress must come together on “this most pressing national issue.” She doesn’t outline specifics, but says the approach should consider the interests of businesses, workers and consumers. The Democrat says the time for an overhaul is now.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has lauded Attorney General Lisa Madigan for leading a bipartisan group of 35 Attorneys General in sending a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and congressional leaders expressing the need for broad reform of the federal immigration system. The Attorneys General are urging reform that protects the country’s borders while providing a responsive and effective visa system to meet the demands of the nation’s growing economy.
“We thank Attorney General Madigan for leading a bi-partisan group of State Attorney Generals, representing the overwhelming majority of the highest state level law enforcement officers in the U.S., to push for sensible immigration reform,” said ICIRR’s CEO Lawrence Benito.

The Attorneys General stated their support for a law enforcement strategy that focuses on public safety, targets serious crime, safeguards witnesses and victims, and considers national security implications for porous borders. They further urged a reasonable and predictable regulatory environment that considers the interests of, and the unintended consequences to, businesses, workers and consumers. A broader reform effort should eventually include a way to accurately, reliably and affordably determine who is permitted to work, ensuring an adequate labor force for a growing economy.

Meanwhile, thousands of people rallied in 18 states and outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, pushing Congress to help legalize the millions of undocumented foreigners living in the country, while lawmakers inside reportedly neared a consensus on an immigration reform bill.

Concerned U.S. citizens, undocumented immigrants and their children spent hours traveling across the country on hundreds of buses for the “All in for Citizenship” rally. Under a sweltering sun, they chanted “Now is the time,” while waving American flags and holding signs demanding equal rights for equal work.

The decades-long push to overhaul the U.S. immigration system appears closer than it’s ever been to seeing actual success in Congress. Despite that, the legislative process could still be thwarted by differences of opinion on how to secure the borders while also addressing the undocumented population.

The bipartisan group of eight senators working on a reform bill has largely agreed on its shape. It is seen as a compromise between Republican lawmakers focused on tightening the borders and Democrats dedicated to a pathway to citizenship. Both political parties, courting the powerful Hispanic vote, are pushing for a deal to happen before the next round of elections.

The activists outside the Capitol building said they’re tired of waiting. Hispanics made up most of the crowd, but Asians, Arabs, Africans and countless others joined in the chants for change – sharing stories, food and water bottles.

Bangladesh-born FarzanaMorshed, a U.S. citizen and community organizer, traveled to Washington from New York out of respect for the Bangladeshis she’s seen deported from the United States.

“When I read the newspaper, I see a lot of people who are being deported. They’re scared all the time. It hurts me,” she said, adding that the people able to stay in the U.S. often face abuses at work because they have no rights.

Labor unions have worked for months organizing the busloads of people who rallied at the Capitol. Lena Bembery, a representative of the United Auto Workers union from Detroit, Michigan, said she came to Washington because “workers’ rights and immigration rights are inseparable.”

“When workers are treated impeccable in terms of immigrant rights, then it translates to all the struggles we’ve had and fights for equality and justice for working people, for people of color, for women,” she said.