United Farm Workers issued the following statement on Rep. Tony Cardenas proposed amendment to the Republican Budget at the House Budget Committee markup hearing:
"UFW applauds Rep. Tony Cardenas’ efforts to push immigration reform forward with his H.R. 15 amendment to the Republican Budget at this morning’s House Budget Committee markup hearing. In the final vote count, the amendment failed with a 21-15 vote in opposition. Though Chairman Paul Ryan stated immigration is “a problem that America needs to confront," he voted against the amendment. Rep. Cardenas’ amendment would have created jobs, supercharged our economy and balanced the budget. It deserved a fair, majority rules debate and a vote.
Being a son of farm workers, Rep. Cardenas truly understands the timeliness for immigration legislation. We thank him for standing up for American families and their economic well-being. We need legislation like H.R. 15 that calls for a road map to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country. The Senate already passed a similar version which includes the special agricultural provisions negotiated by the United Farm Workers and major grower associations to benefit immigrant farm workers. Any bill that would create an additional 120,000 jobs each year must include comprehensive immigration reform. We know we have the votes for immigration reform in congress with Republican support. All we need is the House leadership to bring this vote forward this year.
We demand every member of the House to vote on immigration reform now."
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