Immigration

As I talk to people throughout our region, all of them agree our immigration system is broken. There are approximately 110,000 immigrants in the 1st District and only half are naturalized citizens, meaning nearly 60,000 face the prospect of deportation. In an attempt to correct this crisis, President Obama took reasonable steps within the office’s well-established authority to… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today sent a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske requesting he allow hikers to cross into the United States from Canada along the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT). “Unfortunately, hikers seeking to traverse the PCT from its northern most point on the Canadian side of the border are unable to legally… Read more »

The Republican-run U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday along party lines to oppose President Obama's immigration reform plans and file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court saying so. The House brief will oppose the President in the case of U.S. vs. Texas. The Supreme Court is taking up whether Obama acted legally with plans to defer deporting as many as 5 million undocumented… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) today derided House Republican leadership for trying to score political points instead of allowing a vote on comprehensive immigration reform. “Everyone agrees that our immigration system is broken but instead of voting on a solution, Congress is again wasting time on a political gimmick that does not address real problems,” DelBene said.… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) today chided House Judiciary Committee Republicans for propagating growing xenophobia by taking up a bill that would treat refugees like criminals, re-victimizing people who have already suffered unthinkable atrocities. “Many refugees are women and children fleeing violent situations. They are simply looking for a safe place to go,” DelBene… Read more »

U.S. Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and the Washington state congressional delegation, including Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), urged Ambassador François Nkuna Balumuene of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to ensure that resolution of all remaining adoption cases by the end of March be his government’s highest priority. The delegation expressed… Read more »

Today, Pacific Northwest Members of Congress urged the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to take proactive measures to prevent the heavy losses to agriculture businesses caused in 2014 and 2015 due to technical problems with the H-2A visa system.  In their letter to Secretary John Kerry of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Homeland… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today joined colleagues in introducing the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act. The legislation would provide legal counsel to unaccompanied minors and people with disabilities during deportation proceedings. “Clearly, there is a humanitarian crisis at our southern border that needs to be addressed, but the current state of our broken immigration… Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) joined more than 140 colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to suspend the new strategy of conducting raids on refugee families and seek a comprehensive regional refugee solution to the crisis in Central America. Read more »

This afternoon, the Congressional Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform and We Belong Together were joined by children at a Capitol Hill press conference to call for an end to America’s family detention system.  Nine members of Congress spoke out about the need to end family detention, including Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40),… Read more »