Reforming our Immigration System
Immigrants drive Arizona's economy forward. But we need a system that works better for everyone.
That starts with strong border security and passing meaningful immigration reform. As Chair of the New Democrat Coalition Immigration and Border Security Task Force, I released a new commonsense immigration framework to serve as a blueprint for addressing the root causes of migration and clearing our asylum backlog.
I also called on the Administration to take executive action when Arizona’s border communities were overburdened, and we’ve seen a 40% drop in encounters at the border since. To continue supporting law enforcement at the border, I’m leading legislation to improve U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s ability to hire, recruit, and retain agents and requiring the Department of Homeland Security to issue more detailed immigration reports to Congress.
More on Reforming our Immigration System
Rep. Greg Stanton will co-chair the New Democrat Coalition's Immigration Task Force and, in that role, will push for common-sense, modern immigration reform that will create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants with deep ties to this country and strengthen Arizona's economy.
Stanton will co-chair the task force with Congressman Salud Carbajal of California. The New Democrat Coalition (NDC) is made up of more than 90 forward-thinking House Democrats who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies.
Rep. Greg Stanton led members of the Arizona Congressional delegation in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget calling for a 30-day extension of the comment period for a proposed U.S. Department of Homeland Security rule that would impact Arizona's higher education institutions. The comment period is scheduled to close Oct. 26.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, Ruben Gallego and Tom O'Halleran also signed onto the letter.
A measure to allow approved visitors from Mexico to travel throughout Arizona without additional documentation, instead of a mere 25 to 75 miles from the border under current law, is making its way through both houses of the U.S. Congress.
Rep. Greg Stanton's Southwest Tourism Expansion Act moved a significant step closer to becoming law today as it advanced as part of the House's Fiscal Year 2021 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill. Stanton's bill would create a pilot program to allow certain visitors from Mexico who already have permission to enter the United States to travel throughout the state of Arizona.
PHOENIX – The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything from how most Americans work and shop to how they socialize – even if they can be in the same room.
For Maria Leon Pena, it could change her chances of staying in this country.
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Rep. Greg Stanton issued the following statement in response to President Trump's executive order blocking green cards from being issued to individuals legally immigrating to the United States.
"This executive order hurts Arizona, and only serves to demonize and scapegoat immigrants. Our nation is in crisis and rather than put all of his effort behind protecting the American people, the President has taken his eye off the ball.
It's been more than three years since Nedifo Halane, a refugee from Somalia, requested U.S. officials to allow her husband, daughter and son to live with her in her Phoenix home. Halane arrived in Phoenix in 2014 with her youngest son after spending six years in a refugee camp.
She is one of many Somali refugees in Arizona who are waiting to reunite with their family members due to increased restrictions to legal immigration, including a ban on immigration from countries like Somalia.
WASHINGTON – A House committee gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would add 20,000 farmworker visas and let some workers apply for permanent legal residency, despite Republican concerns that it could open the door to more illegal immigration.
The 18-12 vote Thursday by the House Judiciary Committee split on party lines that reflected four hours of debate, stretched over two days, on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
WASHINGTON – Arizonan Yazmin Irazoqui-Ruiz can't be in Washington when the Supreme Court considers whether the Trump administration can end DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that has allowed her to stay in this country and go to medical school.
But Irazoqui-Ruiz will still have a presence in the courtroom Tuesday – as one of the model "citizens" who have been cited in dozens of court briefs that argue for keeping DACA.