The American Immigration Council does not endorse or oppose candidates for elected office. We aim to provide analysis regarding the implications of the election on the U.S. immigration system.
This past weekend, presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, introduced Joseph Biden of Delaware as his vice-presidential running mate. Pro-immigrant and labor groups have lauded Obama’s decision to run next to a six-term senator with foreign policy expertise and a firm commitment to comprehensive immigration reform.
Frank Sharry of America’s voice and a featured panelist at NDN’s Immigration Reform and the Next Administration forum event at the DNC said in a released statement “As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he [Biden] has been a strong, consistent and unwavering supporter of common sense immigration reform. Biden understands, as do the majority of Americans, that the immigration system is broken and the current Administration has failed miserably to solve the problem.”
Senator Biden has adamantly opposed deporting our way out of our immigration problem by extraditing the projected 14 million undocumented immigrants living in our country today. After voting in favor of the immigration reform bill of 2007, during the Democratic presidential primaries, Biden proposed a pathway towards “earned citizenship” for undocumented immigrants who pass background checks.
While Obama and Biden surge forward with a promising immigration platform, it remains to be seen whether McCain will solidify his stance on immigration and chose to share the Republican ticket with someone who will reconfirm his longstanding commitment to comprehensive immigration reform.
