A set of recommendations in regards to immigration reform were released on August 15th by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the New York Times says. The letter also put forward a call to action for lawmakers in Congress to discuss immigration and to try and find a method whereby everybody can come to an agreement.
“We should refrain from demonizing individuals or organizations for positions that may not align directly with either our views or our opinions on the best method for resolving these important matters,” the statement from the center reads. “Instead, we encourage a respectful dialogue that acknowledges these concerns and moves forward to find common ground.” Four co-chairman all head the group and all of them agree that they want to see progress made on immigration reform by Congress.
The source also says that the group wants lawmakers to start focusing on repairing the broken immigration system that the United States currently has, and to deal with their differences so that a solution can be found. The statement’s guiding principles include controlling the number of undocumented immigrants that move to the US, creating a system that encourages legal immigration, acknowledging the benefits to the economy that improving the immigration system would bring, and including a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already living in the country.
“You’ve got a pretty broad range of views represented, and yet we find that it is possible to find common ground,” says former secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff.