Washington, DC –The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today joined with national faith, labor, and immigration advocacy organizations to urge congressional action on immigration and to use the “Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007” (STRIVE Act), introduced last month by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), as a starting point.

“We are confident that the ‘STRIVE Act’ incorporates all the elements necessary for real comprehensive immigration reform,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. The “STRIVE Act” includes major fixes to our current broken immigration system – a path to permanent residency for the vast majority of the 12 million undocumented immigrants; a reduction in family immigration backlogs; and a new worker visa program so that future workers can arrive legally, have the freedom to change employers, and have the possibility of applying for more permanent legal status if they choose to remain in the U.S.

While we recognize that the bill is not perfect and we intend to seek improvements, the ‘STRIVE Act’ gives us the best chance at passing legislation in 2007. We support this bill and urge swift and immediate congressional action,” concluded Murguía.

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