Rev. Luis Cortes Applauds Obama Administration's New Immigration Regulation

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Reverend Luis Cortes, Jr., President of Esperanza and a long-time advocate for sensible immigration reforms, applauds the Obama administration's proposed changes to the family unity waiver process.

On January 6th, via a Federal Register announcement, the Obama administration revealed plans to create new regulations governing the family unity waiver application process for the undocumented spouses and children of United States citizens. The new process would allow families to remain together in the United States while waiver applications are processed, rather than requiring that the applicants travel to American consulates in their home countries.

In response to the measure, Reverend Cortes stated:

"This is a simple, common sense solution to one of the problems in our current immigration system that has long needed to be fixed. Any policy that separates family members and places them in dangerous, uncertain circumstances for extended periods of time is in direct contradiction to the family values we must be committed to upholding as a nation. I am encouraged that the Obama administration is taking the necessary steps to do the right thing for the spouses and children of United States citizens, and we will celebrate the change alongside all those whose lives will be positively impacted.

"We must remember, however, that this is only one crucially important step toward a complete overhaul of our broken system. There is no excuse for inaction, when so many individuals and families are suffering unnecessarily. We hope that this solution will be extended to all immediate family members of United States citizens, and that it signals a move toward more common sense reforms across the board."

On Tuesday, January 10, Reverend Cortes participated in a telephonic press conference to express support for the regulation. The press conference was hosted by the National Immigration Forum and other speakers included the Most Reverend Jaime Soto, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento and Linda Hartke, president and chief executive officer, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

To listen to a recording of the press conference, please visit http://tinyurl.com/familyunitywv.  

Reverend Luis Cortes is president of Esperanza, the premiere Hispanic Evangelical faith-based network in the country. With a national network of over 12,000 Hispanic congregations, faith and community based agencies, Esperanza is a leading voice for Hispanics in America.

SOURCE Esperanza

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