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SR 90
As Introduced

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S. R. No. 90 As Introduced

As Introduced

130th General Assembly

Regular Session

2013-2014

S. R. No. 90

Senator Tavares

Cosponsors: Senators Kearney, Brown, Turner, Schiavoni, Sawyer, Skindell

A RESOLUTION

To urge the Congress of the United States to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       WHEREAS, America has a long and rich heritage of immigration, but our current immigration system is broken, as immigrants face an insufficient number of visas for workers to support the United States labor force; arbitrary visa caps, which create backlogs and separate families; exploitation by employers through wage and workplace violations; and inadequate government infrastructure to support the immigrant population; and

       WHEREAS, Comprehensive immigration reform must provide law-abiding, tax-paying immigrant workers and their families with an opportunity to obtain legal permanent residency, and eventually United States citizenship, through fair and reasonable requirements; and

       WHEREAS, Comprehensive immigration reform should reduce immigration backlogs so that United States citizens may be reunited with family members requesting to immigrate; and

       WHEREAS, Any new worker visa program must provide workers with all the rights afforded by the United States Constitution, portable visas that allow workers to change jobs, and the ability to petition for permanent residency; and

       WHEREAS, Comprehensive immigration reform should include a meaningful opportunity for immigrant students to pursue a college education after high school graduation; and

       WHEREAS, United States immigration policies must actively promote the civic integration of newcomers in order to decrease the barriers immigrants face in acquiring the necessary skills to participate in our nation's civic life, such as providing access to English instruction and civics proficiency courses; and

       WHEREAS, Comprehensive immigration reform must include a discussion of the fundamental causes of migration to the United States, such as the need for sustainable social and economic development in migrants' communities of origin. Further, our nation must more actively pursue partnership opportunities with sending nations in order to identify feasible development strategies to enable those nations better to meet the economic needs of their populations; and

       WHEREAS, The federal government must take action to reform our immigration laws in order to continue our heritage of immigration by making permanent President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants work permits and permission to stay in United States to certain individuals who were brought into this country before they were sixteen years of age; by establishing a path to citizenship for all immigrants who have not committed criminal offenses; and by protecting the unity and sanctity of the family; and

       WHEREAS, The federal government has the exclusive authority to develop, implement, and enforce immigration policy under the United States Constitution, and the regulation of immigration is solely the responsibility of the federal government; and

       WHEREAS, Comprehensive immigration reform must strengthen our national security and the safety of our communities and neighborhoods because the United States, like every sovereign nation, has the right to secure its borders through laws that regulate the entry of persons from other countries; and

       WHEREAS, The United States must provide resources for immigration enforcement and must implement enforcement measures that will accomplish these goals in an effective and humane manner; now therefore be it

       RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Ohio calls upon the United States Congress promptly to enact comprehensive immigration reform; and be it further

       RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the President and Vice-President of the United States, to the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, to the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and to the members of the Ohio Congressional delegation.