Wednesday, September 10, 2008

House Judiciary Committee Reviewing Immigration Bills This Week

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American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Commends House Judiciary Committee For “Mark-Up” Of Four Immigration-Related Bills

Cite as "AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 08091070 (posted Sep. 10, 2008)"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
CONTACT:
George Tzamaras
202-507-7649
gtzamaras@aila.org
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) commends Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, for pressing forward in a time of uncertainty and in a toxic political environment to "mark up" four important immigration-related bills. These bills are:

H.R. 6020 would provide immigration benefits for immigrant soldiers and their families; (Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA and Rep. Mac Thornberry R-TX)
H.R. 5882 would recapture employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas lost to bureaucratic delays; (Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-WI)
H.R. 5924 would provide 20,000 employment-based visas per year for three years specifically for nurses; (Rep. Robert Wexler, D-FL and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-WI)
HR 5950 would ensure basic medical care for immigration detainees; (Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA and Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-FL)

"Chairpersons Conyers and Lofgren are showing great leadership in recognizing the enormous good that will come in passing these important bills," said AILA President Charles H. Kuck. "Our current immigration policy is broken and with Congress' failure last year to pass comprehensive reform, these bills represent the best opportunity for some much-needed fixes. These bills will not only help keep families together, but they will help meet the demands of our struggling economy and are a step in the right direction towards bringing back due process and a sense of humanity for immigration detainees. We look forward to seeing these bills become law this year," he added.

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