Rep. Nancy Pelosi

WASHINGTON: House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joined House Democratic Caucus Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and immigrants’ rights and advocacy groups at a news conference on Jan. 28 to introduce comprehensive Democratic immigration reform principles, a press release said.

“Democrats believe in reform that re-unites families, provides economic opportunity for all, and enhances our security,” she said. “President Bush’s recent immigration proposal... falls far short of that. (His) policy does not create a... pathway for citizenship and permanent residency. It does nothing about the backlog of millions of family-based immigration requests. ... And it ignores one of our highest bipartisan priorities: To provide opportunities to immigrant students,” so that America has an educated workforce, she added.

(Compiled from a press release by Charles Isaac)