PICO Lauds Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for Immigration Reform Bill Support

Florida's District 27 Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has become the second Republican co-sponsor of HR 15, the bipartisan immigration reform bill proponents hope will win over Speak John Boehner in the House. And PICO Florida came forward Tuesday to thank her publicly for it.

The bill draws on ideas from both sides of the aisle, and PICO believes it's gaining momentum as a legitimate vehicle for a path to citizenship with a growing list of co-sponsors.

Eddie Carmona, PICO National Network?s campaign manager for the Campaign for Citizenship, issued a statement to salute Ros-Lehtinen:

"Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has demonstrated that she is a champion of the 11 million aspiring Americans by taking a bold, first step toward achieving reform of our broken immigration system. This move shows us that she is willing not only to speak up for the immigrant community, but will act to find a real legislative solution to the devastating problem facing our communities."?

Said Carmona, "HR 15 is a serious vehicle for achieving consensus on reform. Nearly everyone agrees that the current system is broken, and now Republicans in the House like Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., are helping to build the pressure on Speaker Boehner to schedule a vote. Majority support for reform with a path to citizenship exists in the House, and we hope more Republicans step forward to build the momentum for action on reform.?"

PICO United Florida is a network of federations of congregations in Orange, Alachua, Seminole, Escambia, Miami-Dade, St. Lucie, and Osceola counties. Its 90 congregations represent more than 60,000 families and "unite low- to moderate-income communities in Florida to work for systemic change."