HJ0058 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0058 LRB094 12337 HSS 46325 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois and the United States of America were founded by immigrants who traveled from around the world to seek a better life; and

WHEREAS, Immigrants have made enormous contributions to our nation's economic, cultural, and political life, and these contributions have been recognized and honored throughout our history and across the political spectrum; and

WHEREAS, Our nation's immigration system should uphold our basic values of family, economic opportunity, and fairness; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. immigration system is in disarray and in need of comprehensive reform: immigrants who are eager to rejoin family members or willing to work in the U.S. are unable to immigrate under the current system or face long backlogs; and

WHEREAS, The mismatch between our nation's immigration laws and our economic needs and family values has led to deaths on the border, a large underground market in false documents, and an undocumented population of eleven million immigrants, including half a million in Illinois, and widespread disregard for our immigration laws; and

WHEREAS, President Bush and leaders of both political parties in both chambers of Congress recognize the need for realistic, common-sense, humane solutions for our immigration problems; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Edward Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and U.S. Representatives Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, Republicans from Arizona, and Luis Gutierrez, Democrat from Illinois, have proposed legislation offering such solutions; and

WHEREAS, Their proposed legislation includes cutting through our current immigration backlogs to reunite families sooner; a guestworker program, similar to that proposed by President Bush, that would provide a safe and orderly way for willing immigrant workers to fill essential jobs in our economy; realistic enforcement strategies to ensure the security of our nation's borders; and a means for hardworking immigrants to earn legal status, upon paying a penalty for their time in the U.S. out of status, and to eventually become U.S. citizens; and

WHEREAS, By restoring order to our immigration system, such reforms will make our nation more secure as well as meet our labor needs and uphold our basic values as a nation; and

WHEREAS, In a recent bipartisan poll, 77% of respondents supported such comprehensive reform to our immigration system; and

WHEREAS, Comprehensive immigration reform is supported by business, organized labor, faith communities, and other leaders and sectors in our country; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we do hereby wholeheartedly support comprehensive immigration reform and the McCain-Kennedy legislation, and we urge the United States Congress to enact this legislation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the President pro-tem of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and to each member of the Illinois Congressional delegation.