HIAS lauds immigration act

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society praised two U.S. congressmen for their immigration reform plan. The Strive Act of 2007, sponsored by Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), “offers a real path to citizenship that will bring people out of the shadows and enable workers that our economy desperately needs to come to this country in the future,” Lisa Shuger, director of HIAS’ Washington office, said in a release Tuesday. The act, introduced March 22 in the U.S. House of Representatives, provides more lenient visa and citizenship regulations than a current White House proposal on the same subject. “We’re especially pleased that the bill would hasten family reunification through the reduction of backlogs and includes protections for detained asylum seekers,” HIAS President Gideon Aronoff said.