It's simple. Immigration reform would help our economy, create jobs, and stop the needless separation of American families.
Why, then, do we still have a broken immigration system?
One substantial reason is that Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader and a key figure within the Republican Congress, is making it his mission to prevent an immigration reform bill from ever seeing a vote on the House floor.
Nearly a year after the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform bill, House Republicans have failed to offer a solution of their own. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration has deported more than two million people under its watch -- a number vastly higher than any administration before it.
While families are being ripped apart and while our economy continues to face an uncertain economic recovery, Eric Cantor and the GOP fiddle away valuable time on non-scandals and the naming of post offices.
Let's take a brief look at how we got here and the role Eric Cantor has played in stopping reform:
- November 9, 2012: Days after President Obama wins a second term in the White House, propelled to re-election in part by the support of nearly 75 percent of Latino voters, Speaker of the House John Boehner tells reporters that comprehensive immigration reform is "long overdue" and vows to work toward a solution.
You have talked about creating jobs and strengthening the economy, Leader Cantor. You once highlighted the need for reform. Yet lately you have done nothing but make excuses or ignore the issue. It's lazy. It's irresponsible. It has to stop.
Why are you not joining your colleagues -- and the Speaker -- by telling the House to get to work on this critical issue?
We are waiting for an answer. We are waiting for action on immigration reform. But time is quickly running out, and Latino voters will remember when they go to the polls this November who stood in the way of legislation that our country so badly needs.