Family Equality Council Statement on President Obama’s Immigration Announcement
Washington DC- Family Equality Council commends President Obama following tonight’s historic announcement that he will take executive action to protect five million eligible undocumented immigrants from deportation and allow them to work legally. But the organization urges further steps by Congress to create long-term solutions to the nation’s immigration crisis.
“We applaud the President’s commitment to move forward to protect children and keep families together,” said Family Equality Council Executive Director, Gabriel Blau. “At the same time we hope that his bold action spurs Congress to enact long-overdue immigration reform that strengthens families, rather than tears them apart.”
“It’s important to acknowledge that there are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., approximately 267,000 of whom are LGBT-identified,” continued Family Equality Council Director of Public Policy, Emily Hecht-McGowan. “Millions will continue to live in the shadows until our elected leaders come together to pass comprehensive immigration reform. President Obama’s announcement tonight shows strong leadership on this critical issue and sends a strong message to Congress. It is time to do your job and repair our broken immigration system once and for all.”
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About Family Equality Council®: Family Equality Council® connects, supports, and represents the three million parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer in this country today and their six million children of all ages. We are changing attitudes and policies to ensure that all families are respected, loved, and celebrated—including families with parents who are LGBTQ. We are a community of parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren that reaches across this country. For over 30 years we have raised our children and raised our voices toward fairness for all families.