STATEMENT BY ANGELA KELLEY
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano convened a summit on immigration reform this afternoon that included a broad spectrum of stakeholders and senior administration officials. President Barack Obama appeared at the end of the meeting and made short comments. The following is a statement by Angela Kelley, the Vice President for Immigration Policy and Advocacy at Center for American Progress.
“Today’s meeting at the White House marked another critical step in the path towards comprehensive immigration reform. By bringing together an impressive range of stakeholders representing the interests of business, faith, labor, law enforcement, and local government, both Secretary Napolitano and President Obama signaled their willingness to lean into the issue. For his part, the president reaffirmed his unyielding commitment to fight for immigration reform, a commitment that we expect will move from promises to policy in the coming months. The legislative calendar is obviously packed with major challenges, but solving the immigration crisis ranks among the most important. The administration has health care reform in its immediate sights but, as today’s meeting suggests, that strong focus is not myopic. They are confidently looking around the corner and laying the foundation for the next big challenge: immigration reform.”