Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today applauded Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) for taking a bold step forward and introducing the bipartisan “Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007” (STRIVE Act). The bill was introduced today at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

“This is an important step forward on the road to comprehensive immigration reform,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “The time is now for Congress to act, and we are heartened by the number of legislators on both sides of the aisle deeply committed to producing a realistic solution to our immigration problems.”

The “STRIVE Act” includes key elements necessary to fix the broken immigration system: a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, a new worker visa program so that future immigrants can arrive legally, a reduction in family immigration backlogs which allows American families to unite in a reasonable time period, and smart enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the new system remains viable.

“Enforcement-only tactics such as anti-immigrant local ordinances and worksite raids have done nothing to curb undocumented immigration, but they have hurt local economies and caused suffering for American families,” continued Murguía. “Only a comprehensive approach like the ‘STRIVE Act’ provides the right framework for a truly workable and effective solution.”

“We know this is not a perfect bill and that the devil is in the details, but NCLR and its coalition partners will work hard to ensure that any bill that becomes law is workable, fully protects all workers, and guarantees the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans,” noted Murguía.

“All in all, we believe that the introduction of the ‘STRIVE Act’ marks the beginning of a process which will result in signed legislation this year. This bill can result in good public policy for all Americans who are hungry for a real solution to a system in crisis,” concluded Murguía.

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