Boston, MA - In a front page lead story today, The New York Times confirmed President Obama's intention to reform immigration this year. A senior administration official told the paper of the president's commitment to build "an orderly system," including finding a way to bring undocumented workers onto the path of legalization. "He intends to start the debate this year," said the official, Cecilia Muñoz, deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
MIRA applauds the president and those who stand with him in Congress for taking this politically courageous step. President Obama's public commitment recognizes not only the urgency of reform for thousands of immigrant families, but also for millions of American workers and business owners imperiled by the current economic crisis.
The following is a statement from Eva A. Millona, Executive Director of the MIRA Coalition, about the Times story:
"One out of twenty working families in America is currently deprived of labor and wage protections. The Administration should be commended for recognizing that this broken, unjust system hurts every American worker. In Massachusetts, thousands of families currently live and labor in the shadows and are easy prey to exploitation. Creating sensible, permanent, and humane reform will not only bring these families into the light, it will also brighten everyone's economic prospects. Reform will give immigrants a better chance to increase their purchasing power; it will create a fair and level field for wages; and, ultimately, it will improve the state's tax base. The administration gets it, and we are ready to get behind the president and his supporters in Congress to mobilize working families, communities of faith, labor, and businesses to push for this vital reform."
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