Asian American Organizations Applaud President Obama for His Leadership on Immigration Reform; New York Times Article Highlights President’s Plan for Reform This Year 

Washington D.C. – The Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a national civil rights group based in Washington, D.C. and its affiliates -- the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, Calif., Asian American Institute in Chicago, Ill. and Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles, Calif. -- thank President Obama for making immigration reform one of his top legislative priorities this year.

“We believe that sensible immigration reform is a key part of successfully moving towards rebuilding our economy,” said Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director of AAJC. “This is about our families and making sure our laws are workable, fair and humane.”

Members of Congress including Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) and Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) have held several town halls and meetings with faith-based constituencies across the country about the impact of immigration policies on Asian American and Latino families. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have also highlighted the need for overhauling our immigration system.  

AAJC and its affiliates applaud these Congressional leaders for their commitment to passing meaningful immigration reform that would regularize the status of undocumented individuals while at the same time resolving the large and painful family immigration backlogs, which can also drive undocumented immigration. Asian and other immigrant families are waiting up to two decades to reunify with loved ones.