Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., applauded the vote by the U.S. Senate to move the immigration debate forward. NCLR has urged the Senate to pass the strongest bill possible so that the process can proceed to its next step in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“The bipartisan group of senators who brought an agreement forward should be commended for getting the process started,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “This bill contains many promising provisions that are vital to the Latino community and to the nation. While we also have a number of serious concerns about the specifics of the bill, we believe we can address them as the bill moves through the legislative process.”

Murguía highlighted the bill’s path to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented workers currently living and working in the U.S. as a major accomplishment that must be preserved and strengthened as the legislation moves through the U.S. Congress.

“This bill represents our best chance to achieve immigration reform that addresses the undocumented population,” Murguía said. She also highlighted the “DREAM Act,” which benefits immigrant students, and the “AgJOBS” bill, which benefits farmworkers, as the major positive features of the immigration bill.

“Our community has also made it clear that we intend to address critical concerns in this legislation such as providing a path to citizenship for temporary workers and preserving the reunification of families as the cornerstone of our immigration laws,” Murguía continued. “Now that this agreement has left the back room and is subject to the legislative process, we believe we will have opportunities to improve it in both the Senate and the House.”

Murguía concluded by urging Congress to move expeditiously on immigration reform legislation. “The country is hungry for a policy that will work; Congress must turn this momentum into action and pass the best possible immigration reform.”

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