Congressman Sires Opposes Hardline Immigration Bill

(Washington, D.C.) –Today, Congressman Sires joined 300 of his Democratic and Republican colleagues in rejecting the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act, a supposed compromise bill drafted by Speaker Paul Ryan and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).

“I’m relieved that my colleagues and I successfully and resoundingly opposed the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act.” stated Rep. Sires. “Rather than addressing important, bipartisan issues in immigration such as the family separation crisis and the future of DREAMers across the country, Speaker Ryan chose to schedule a vote on yet another hardline, anti-immigrant bill that failed to adequately resolve either of these issues.”

Specifically, H.R. 6136 did not provide a permanent path to citizenship for DREAMers but instead tied the continuation of their protected status to sustained border funding – holding their futures hostage to ensure $25 billion in funding for an unnecessary border wall.  It also failed to address the root cause of the family separation crisis at the border and would continue the policy of jailing entire families who are coming to the United States in the hopes of finding safety and building a better life.  In addition, it would make family reunification extremely difficult by eliminating broad visa categories and revoking millions of previously approved citizenship petitions.  It would also have made it much harder for those seeking asylum to argue their case and removed protections for unaccompanied children.

H.R. 6136, the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act failed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 121-301.