Kash on Immigration

America’s diversity is our greatest strength. We are a nation of immigrants. We have welcomed people of all faiths and backgrounds. Immigrants bring talent, innovation, and determinism. They become good tax paying citizens.

Immigrants keep us on the leading edge of business. Of intention and technology. Immigrants boost economies. They expand culture through popular ethnic foods and performing arts. Immigrants set the pace in science and technology. Over the last 20 years, four out of every ten Nobel Prize recipients have been immigrants to America.

Immigration defines American character and our shared history.

And our immigration system is broken.

Our country is now deporting men and women who have honorably served in our armed forces.

We have a backlog of applications. It can take years for U.S. citizens to reunite with family members. Small children represent themselves in our immigration courts. They do so without attorneys. Some don’t even speak our language.

The greatest nation in the world has nothing to fear from children fleeing violence. Children fleeing violence should have nothing to fear from the greatest nation in the world.

I stand for common sense immigration reform.

We need a pathway to citizenship for DREAMERS. For other immigrants working, paying taxes, and contributing to American society.

Common sense immigration reform will reduce the backlog. It will increase the number of immigration courts and immigration judges.

Common sense immigration reform will change the H-1B visa program. It will streamline the process of recruiting specialists from abroad. But it will prevent corporations from replacing qualified American workers with cheap foreign labor.

Common sense immigration reform will use technology to increase true border security.

Immigration enforcement must be humane and consistent with American values, must restore our global leadership in humanitarian relief for refugees, and must provide a fast track for those who have served in our armed forces to earn citizenship. Most Americans support such reforms, and it is long past time for Congress to deliver them.

I am determined to help create solutions for those who follow our laws, work hard, and aspire to make America work better for all of us.