Republicans are keeping millions of people hiding in society’s shadows and hurting the economy of the United States by continuing to refuse to take up the issue of immigration reform in Washington, according to Democratic congressional candidate Henry Lawrence. Lawrence made these comments on Saturday at a rally in Sarasota.
Undocumented immigrants already living in the United States want to become legal taxpaying citizens, Lawrence says, but Congressional Republicans continue to block any efforts to make this happen. He believes that should Congress finally take some action on the issue, these workers would not only be able to become part of the workforce without living in fear but would also be greatly contributing to taxes.
“We’re missing out on billions of dollars by not allowing these people to be able to contribute to our economy,” Lawrence declared at the Newtown centennial event, which took place at the Robert L Taylor Community Complex, was organized by the Democratic Club of Sarasota and was attended by around 300 people. Lawrence says that one of the main reasons he is running against Representative Vern Buchanan is because he wants to be able to put pressure on congressional leaders to deal with the issue.
Buchanan is seeking re-election in what would be his fifth two-year congressional term. Since 2006 he has made immigration reform one of his major campaign priorities; however, he continues to oppose giving amnesty to undocumented immigrants already in the country.