Washington, DC—NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, commended the Senate Judiciary Committee for seeking solutions to reform the immigration system at its hearing yesterday, “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.” Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), testified on the agency’s work on immigration, border security, and citizenship.

In addition to providing an overview of current administrative practices, Secretary Napolitano expressed the need to reform our broken immigration laws. She noted that such an overhaul must include smart enforcement strategies, significant changes to the legal immigration system, and a means of addressing the presence of a substantial undocumented population. Moreover, she expressed her support of the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act of 2009” (S. 729)—legislation that would allow immigrant students who are raised in the U.S. and graduate from U.S. high schools to attend college and start on the path to citizenship. “I supported the DREAM Act when I was governor, and I support it now. It seems to me that the DREAM Act is a good piece of legislation,” said Napolitano.

“Secretary Napolitano’s testimony provided a valuable perspective and emphasized why fixing our nation’s immigration system is an important policy priority,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “Her comments on the DREAM Act are particularly significant, given that this is the first time that a DHS representative has taken a public stance on immigration legislation. Her support for the bill should be encouraging to immigrant students. It sends the message that the nation’s principal immigration authority wants, like the rest of the American public, to see practical solutions on immigration.”

The “DREAM Act” was reintroduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D–IL) and Richard Lugar (R–IN). The House companion bill, the “American Dream Act” (H.R. 1751), was introduced by Representatives Howard Berman (D–CA), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R–FL), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D–CA).

Murguía concluded, “While yesterday’s hearing demonstrates that notable efforts are being made to improve current immigration practices, we cannot forget that the system continues to be plagued with unacceptable inefficiencies. We need to address these problems through workable, humane immigration reform, and this was an important step in that direction.”

For more information, visit www.nclr.org.

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