Undocumented workers hope for path to citizenship

Tools

by Dara Newson

Story Created: Jan 28, 2013 at 7:12 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jan 28, 2013 at 8:07 PM CDT

Local leaders and undocumented workers watched their TV's closely as immigration reform took center stage in Washington Monday.

Grand Island activist Felipe Cruz laid out what he wants to see happen with the legislation.

Cruz says the nation is headed in the right direction. But he says, look, cut the political talk. The main focus should be giving illegal immigrants their citizenship rights.

Earlier Monday a bi-partisan group of Senators unveiled a plan for immigration reform that has local leaders on their heels.

"It's an issue that we have been working for more than 50 years on and we don't see an end to it hopefully now we can have something more tangible," said Cruz.

Local activist Felipe Cruz in Grand Island says politicians have focused on issues like border security for too long.

"The Republican Party needs to do an immigration reform. This is a survival mode for them. Otherwise, they're going to have a problem in the future," Cruz said.

Over 70 percent of the Latino vote went to President Obama in the 2012 election.

"The Latino population we're expecting immigration reform right now because I think we contribute enough to the election that at this point this is an expectation," said Cruz.

There are many details built in the legislation, but the most difficult disagreement is likely to be the path to citizenship.

"Eleven million or twelve millions of people are undocumented, so how many drivers are we going to have? How many cars are were going to invest in? How many houses are we going to be buying into? That money is probably going somewhere else, but not in America. So we need to see it as an economic issue; it's not a political issue," Cruz said.

President Obama will be in Nevada Tuesday to lay out his vision for immigration reform.

On Demand

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Poll

Should the Boy Scouts allow gay scouts and leaders in troops?

  • Yes, allow both
  • No, they shouldn't allow either
  • Yes, allow gay scouts, but not leaders
  • Yes, allow gay leaders, but not scouts

Local Gas Prices

Lowest Gas Prices in Tri-Cities
Nebraska Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

KHASTV on Facebook

Weather Closings