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For Immediate
Release
IPC Praises
Labor Leaders' Immigration Accord
Labor's
Alliance Bolsters Movement Towards Economic Recovery and Immigration
Reform
April 14, 2009
Washington, DC - Today, the nation's two major
labor federations, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Change to Win, agreed for
the first time to join forces to support comprehensive immigration
reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented
workers. The following is a statement by
Angela Kelley, Director of the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) in
Washington, DC.
"Today's announcement from the country's most powerful labor
federations serves as yet another signal that the momentum for
immigration reform is building, and the muscle behind it is growing
stronger. We applaud the
leaders of the A.F.L.- C.I.O and Change to Win labor federations for
providing constructive input and coming together
to support a comprehensive solution to our broken immigration
system.
Labor's alliance on this issue adds to increasing evidence that
immigration reform and economic recovery go
hand-in-hand. There is a consensus among academic and
government research which shows
that immigration reform that includes a path to legalization for
undocumented immigrants would pay for itself in the form of
increased wages, buying power, and tax contributions that would
benefit all workers and businesses.
America needs a workable immigration system that balances the
needs of both hard-working men and women and honest
businesses. It is unacceptable to have millions
working in our country in an underground economy.
We neither expect to deport them, nor can we
ignore the legitimate economic and family needs
that attract immigrants to our country. The
A.F.L. - C.I.O. and Change to Win support comprehensive immigration
reform because they understand that in order to best serve the
interests of America's working men and women, they must bring 12
million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows."
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For press
inquiries contact:
Wendy Sefsaf, 202-507-7524 (office) or
email wse...@ailf.org
Andrea Nill, 202-507-7520 (office) or
email an...@ailf.org
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