Ebony‘s France François asks how close the Gang of Eight’s legislation comes to what advocates were hoping for.
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Last week, the Senate’s bipartisan Gang of Eight released an immigration reform bill to cautious praise and protest alike from both immigration advocates and opponents. Latino groups, employee unions, Silicon Valley representatives, and anti-immigration advocates have all weighed in on the bill, but the question remains an open one: Is this the comprehensive immigration reform we’ve been waiting for? To answer this question, EBONY.com discussed the proposed legislation with Opal Tometi of the Black Immigration Network and Loide Jorge, a D.C. immigration attorney and member of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Rapid Response Team on immigration reform.
The ladies agreed without hesitation that this bill was an important first step, but far from the comprehensive reform that it’s being touted as. “Sadly, what we see with the Senate’s immigration bill is that they’ve decidedly moved away from having an immigration system that is family-based to one that is employment-based,” says Opal. The bill eliminates family reunification green cards for siblings of U.S. citizens and married children over 30 years old.
Read France François’ entire piece at Ebony.
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