Pocan Co-Sponsors Bipartisan Immigration Reform Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) announced today that he has co-sponsored comprehensive immigration reform legislation and urged Speaker Boehner to bring the bill up for a vote as soon as possible. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, H.R. 15, which is modeled after the bipartisan immigration reform bill that passed the U.S. Senate earlier this year, currently has more than 190 bipartisan supporters in the House.

"Comprehensive immigration reform unites Americans from all different states, backgrounds and even political affiliations, and it's time for Congress to act," Pocan said. "Providing our country with a commonsense and fair immigration system is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do. It will boost Wisconsin's economy, create jobs, promote innovation, and reduce the deficit. I am proud to support bipartisan immigration reform in the House, and I urge Speaker Boehner to allow us to vote on a measure that has strong and widespread support."

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act would:

• Unite families and offer hardworking immigrants an earned pathway to citizenship after passing background checks, paying penalties and taxes, learning English and going to the back of the legal immigration line.
• Reform our visa programs and our interior enforcement.
• Strengthen the E-verify program, protect workers and reward businesses who play by the rules.
• Secure our borders through the bipartisan McCaul-Thompson border security bill that received unanimous approval from the House Homeland Security Committee.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, enactment of the bipartisan Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill would reduce the deficit by $850 billion. In Wisconsin, comprehensive immigration would have meant $33 million more dollars in state and local taxes in 2010, money that could have been used to hire more teachers or first responders. And a report from the Regional Economic Models, Inc., found that a set of reforms like the Senate bill would boost Wisconsin's economic output by $490 million and create approximately 5,782 new jobs in 2014 alone.

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