Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is reintroducing the Fairness for Immigrant Families Act, legislation to address outdated laws complicating our immigration system and crack down on notario fraud.
“For too long, political leaders have used immigration as a wedge issue that has blocked us from ever getting anything done,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “We need strong border security and a system that treats everyone with dignity, including access to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States whose family members are U.S. citizens, serving as frontline workers, paying taxes, and fueling our economy. While we continue to negotiate on bipartisan immigration reform, I am proposing legislation to streamline immigration processes and crack down on the criminal fraud industry that exploits hard-working immigrants which has flourished because of our broken immigration system. Refusing to fix our immigration system is not an option, and I am determined to get something done for the 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. and for all Americans.”
One in five Nevadans is an immigrant, and Nevada has the highest proportion of undocumented residents of any state at seven percent. More than a quarter of a million Nevadans live with at least one undocumented family member, including one in seven U.S. citizen children. Cortez Masto’s legislation would remove arbitrary barriers that make it impossible for undocumented people to adjust their status while combating notario fraud and helping protect victims of corrupt immigration practices.
The Fairness for Immigrant Families Act is endorsed by UnidosUS, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, SEIU, Third Way, National Partnership for New Americans, Immigrants’ List Civic Action, Immigration Hub, UNITE HERE Culinary Workers Union Local 226, SEIU Nevada Local 1107, Make the Road Nevada, Dream Big Nevada, Immigrant Home Foundation, Latin Chamber of Commerce of Las Vegas, Arriba Las Vegas Worker Center, AILA Nevada, African Community Center in Las Vegas, Bangladeshi Association of Northern Nevada, and University of Nevada, Reno Latino Research Center.
You can view the legislation text HERE and download a summary of the bill HERE.
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