The Metropolitan King County Council today called on Congress to pass a “comprehensive and effective” immigration reform plan that creates clear guidelines for undocumented immigrants to become citizens.

The motion introduced by Councilmembers Dow Constantine, Larry Gossett and Larry Phillips urges Congress to enact immigration reform that “respects established civil rights, ensures due process of law for immigrants, including freedom from racial profiling and enforcement that is neither arbitrary nor selective, reunites and protects families, protects workers regardless of immigration status, offers a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants in this nation and therefore leads to the strengthening of our borders and national security.”

“Congress is struggling to find the right answer on an issue that affects thousands of people who live in King County,” said Councilmember Constantine. “We heard testimony from a number of undocumented immigrants who are hard working, tax-paying residents of King County. It would be good not only for them, but for the community as a whole, that they be provided a clear path to legal residence and citizenship.”

“Right now, too many of the people who are working towards immigration reform are trapped in an employment system that is not that far removed from indentured servitude,” said Councilmember Gossett. “True immigration reform will help destroy a system that leaves them no choice but to work for employers who exploit their undocumented status. Absent a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers, we will never have strong and secure borders.”

“Half-measures on the federal level have created the patchwork system under which undocumented immigrants labor today,” said Council Chair Larry Phillips. “That system leaves hard-working people in the shadows and vulnerable to exploitation—people who are making a significant contribution to the economy and prosperity of our country. Congress needs to end today’s oppressive system and pass genuine immigration reform.”

The motion approved by the Council calls on Congress to enact an immigration policy that ensures a “lawful and orderly path” for those immigrants who want to become citizens. The motion would place immigration reform on the county’s 2006 Federal Legislative Agenda and asks the state’s Congressional delegation to support proposals that endorse “comprehensive and effective immigration reform” that “strengthens our borders and national security.”

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system.
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