Washington, D.C. — Today, New Democrat Coalition Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02), Immigration and Border Security Task Force Chair Greg Stanton (AZ-04) and Vice Chair Salud Carbajal (CA-24), and New Dem Members held a press conference to unveil the Immigration and Border Security Task Force’s framework for bipartisan immigration and border security reform that will secure the border, bolster the U.S. economy and workforce, improve pathways to legal status, and help address the asylum system. 

You can read the ten-point framework here, and read the transcript from today’s press conference below:

NDC Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02): Okay, good morning. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I'm Congressman Annie Kuster from New Hampshire, Chair of the New Democrat Coalition and proud and excited to be here today with members of our Immigration and Border Security Task Force, chaired by Greg Stanton, Vice Chair Salud Carbajal, and New Dem Wiley Nickel. Susie Lee is with us, and Nikki Budzinski. There we go. Got everybody.

We have been working for quite some time now on common sense immigration reform, border security, and conversations around the positive economic impacts of immigrants in our economy. As New Dems we've long been focused on addressing challenges at the border through common sense bipartisan solutions to protect our national security, to fix our asylum system, and to address labor shortages and grow our economy. We want to restore order, and we want to make sure that foreign born workers have legal paths to participate in our economic growth and stability.

This group has been working tirelessly on 10 core principles, diving deep into our values, compassion, order, and economic opportunity that will help create long term solutions to what we see as an urgent immigration and security challenge. Importantly, each of these principles can be tackled and advanced in a bipartisan manner. And that's why we're also here to call upon our Republican colleagues, to once and for all abandon the partisan political games and join us at the negotiating table. Republicans have kicked the can down the road year after year after year, and it's time they get serious about border policy, about immigration, and about the important impact of foreign born workers on our economy.

New Dems believe that well increased migration presents clear challenges. It also provides America with great opportunities. The United States is a nation of laws and of immigrants. And we owe it to our country and to future citizens to build a system that reflects our values, that enforces the laws on the books that treats immigrants with the dignity that they deserve, and that ensures order and security at our borders.

The American economy is getting stronger and stronger every day and growing rapidly. Just witnessed the Washington Post headline just a day or two ago about the $7 trillion impact of immigration on our economy over the next 10 years. Unemployment is way down – in my district 2%. Wages are up and the number of jobs continue to increase each and every month, particularly with the onshoring of jobs by President Joe Biden and Congress last session.

At the same time, we're facing a labor shortage that will only worsen unless we take action. Our population is getting older, families are having fewer children, and businesses, frankly, are struggling to find workers. Many people think of immigration as just a southern border state issue. But that's not the case. Immigration impacts all of us wherever you live. In my home state of New Hampshire, which by the way includes a small section of our northern border, small businesses rely on seasonal and migrant workers to help fill jobs that are essential to our economy. So that's why new Dems view immigration not only as a national security issue, but as a key workforce and opportunity issue. This is just one element of our plan, getting people to work so that we can continue to build on the extraordinary economic progress that we've seen under Democratic leadership.

And now I'm proud to introduce our Immigration and Border Security Task Force Chair Greg Stanton, who has worked very hard to devise this common sense framework.

Task Force Chair Greg Stanton (AZ-04): Thank you very much, Chair Kuster. Good morning, everyone. Good morning to my colleagues in the New Dems and the New Dem Immigration and Border Security Task Force. It is an honor to be here with all of you. And a heartfelt thank you to my Vice Chair Salud Carbajal for your hard work and effort. We would not be here at this point presenting this framework without your leadership. 

I'm from Arizona, and my home state has been suffering the consequences of Congressional inaction on this issue for as long as I have served in elected office. This isn't a new crisis. It's the result of decades of partisan mudslinging and broken-down deals. Many have tried to reach across the aisle and find compromise. Our friends in the Senate just last week, the Gang of Eight and giants like Senator John McCain from Arizona before them. We are not naive. We know how difficult this is – especially now. But what just the last few weeks – heck, what the last few days have shown us – is that doing nothing is not only bad policy for America, it's bad politics for Republicans. 

New Dems still believe that there's an opportunity to pass a meaningful, bipartisan immigration and border security bill right here in the House of Representatives, one that addresses the crisis at our southern border and finally fixes our broken outdated immigration system in a way that lifts our economy. It is not one or the other. We can do both. We have to do both. 

The framework we're releasing today is a comprehensive vision for immigration reform and border security, developed over many months of countless conversations with our colleagues in the House, – conversations that we've had on both sides of the aisle – with immigration experts, and with business leaders. First and foremost, we need to secure our southern border once and for all. If we don't, cartels will continue to traffic deadly drugs like fentanyl and exploit vulnerable migrants. In every conversation I've had with border officials in Arizona. Their biggest concern is lack of funding. So our framework calls for significant increases to hire and retain Customs and Border Protection agents and officers and invest in modern technology and infrastructure. That is step one.

But in order for the US to stay economically competitive on a global stage, to win the competition with China, to take full advantage of the investments Congress has made in semiconductors, green energy, and infrastructure, we also have to reform our broken and outdated immigration system. Think about this: our immigration system hasn't been updated since the 1990s, since the internet was invented. We're not equipped to keep pace with the labor needs of a modern economy.

Over the last few years. We have seen historic job growth but across critical sectors of the American economy, from agriculture to health care to our small businesses, there aren't enough workers to fill the open positions. We don't have the workforce to build projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that we so successfully passed last Congress. We don't even have the workers to construct and staff the fabs and other advanced manufacturing factories popping up under the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Our framework calls for streamlining the process for highly skilled and highly educated workers to come and stay in the United States of America and build businesses that create jobs for Americans. We should be actively working to attract the most brilliant minds from around the world to come here in the United States and to contribute. Other nations certainly are doing just that.

Our framework calls for reforming our worker visa system to meet labor market demands and critical industries, like agriculture, like health care. It calls for finally, finally taking action to protect more than a half a million dreamers in our country – a top top priority for our country's biggest employers. It's not just the right thing to do, it is the economically smart thing for this country to do. 

This framework is a starting point, a hand extended to our Republican friends who are serious about reaching a compromise and getting something, anything done. We are ready to work with you. Now I want to introduce my friend and partner in this great effort, Congressman Salud Carbajal.

Task Force Vice Chair Salud Carbajal (CA-24): Thank you Representative Stanton, and thank you for your leadership and extraordinary effort with our staff to put this together. I also want to recognize Annie Kuster, our chair of New Dems, who's been committed to making sure that this is one of the issues in our important platform, overall as New Dems. And I think that the product that we are unveiling today reflects our commitment to solving this important issue. I'm grateful to be one of the four Vice Chairs of the New Dems, and certainly part of this Task Force. 

I came to this country when I was five years old, when our immigration systems somewhat worked. My father was a guest worker, or farm worker, part of the Bracero program, who came here to work and support our family. And then we immigrated to this country altogether after the program ended. First, to Mr. Stanton’s home state of Arizona, a little town called Baghdad, Arizona. And then eventually, after the mine closed where my father worked, we moved to the Central Coast – Oxnard, California – which I have called home ever since. I am here as an immigrant, and a Democrat, to reiterate that we are committed to putting partisanship aside, fixing our immigration system, and restoring order and humanity at the border. 

We have worked over the past year to craft this framework with stakeholders – not in a vacuum – from across the political spectrum, with the understanding that immigration is not just a border issue, as it has become at this point in time, but a labor issue, a workforce issue, and ultimately an economic issue. I am proud of our framework, because it sends a message that we know that fixing immigration, perhaps the most intractable political divide in our politics today, will have large and lasting benefits on our nation's prosperity, as Mr. Stanton pointed out. Recently, the CBO updated their projections for economic growth and output to note that our country will grow larger and faster thanks to the hard work that is done by our nation's immigrants. And using our framework, to reform our H-2A visa programs, eliminate country caps on our work visas, and finally cement a pathway for Dreamers and TPS holders to become full American citizens. We believe there will be more prosperity and economic success ahead. 

When we started crafting this framework, we were aware that this is a topic where others have tried – and failed, more often than not – to get a solution over the finish line. I'm sure my colleagues would agree that we really could not have expected the new low House Republicans have found, when it comes to putting political gimmicks ahead of governing. Especially on an issue that they have made such a staple of the rhetoric in the past 20 years. 

Republicans in Congress this month have set a whole new world record for ventriloquism. They are talking out of more sides of their mouths than we can keep track of. They claim to want action on border security, but then they killed the action on border security that their own members had negotiated. Despite even Donald Trump's admitting during his own term, that Congress was the only one that could act to solve this issue. Now they are looking at blocking a vote on separate national security legislation, which they wanted to tie to the border in the first place, because it has no border measures. Which one is it? This quadruple speak is enough to make your head spin. Is your head spinning yet? Mine is. And frankly, I think it's an insult to the intelligence of the American people. Their overtness, their transparency, of calling out a problem, but now being very vocal about saying, “but yeah we don't want to solve it,” and expecting the American people to think that they're sincere about either of the two. 

And frankly, I think it's an insult – as I said earlier – for those who have seen the right-wing talk about the border at each and every turn, only for them to turn away from their own solution. I am an optimistic person. I think all our lawmakers and public servants should be. And as we built this framework, we kept previous bipartisan legislation in mind, like the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the American Dream and Promise Act. We are hopeful that Republicans will hear from their constituents, like we do, that walking away from the table is not an option. 

New Dems as always, are at the table ready to pass the common sense, bipartisan and lasting reforms that will make our country better. As an immigrant, it is my privilege to not only call this country home, but to represent a slice of it in the United States Congress. It is important to me that our immigration system not only helps families like mine find paths to a better life, but also allows communities to welcome people like me, and the contributions we want to make into the fabric of this great nation. With that, I will introduce my colleague, Susie Lee from Nevada.

Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03): Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for being here. I want to thank the Co-Chairs of the Task Force, Greg Stanton and Salud Carbajal, and all of their staff for the incredible work. And of course, our incredible Chairwoman, Annie Kuster. 

I represent Las Vegas, Nevada, the entertainment capital of the world. It's also a community that is majority minority. It is a community, an industry, and an economy that's been built on the backs of immigrants. And that's why this issue of reforming our immigration system is so important. And I think I can speak for many, many members of Congress, in their offices in their home districts – at least in mine – one of the number one issues I receive phone calls on, of course, is immigration and our broken system. And that's why it's so imperative that we do not give up hope, we do not give up the fight, that we know that the only answer to our broken immigration system is a bipartisan solution. 

And that's why this framework is so incredibly important. It is a framework that will protect our border. It will create a path to citizenship, strengthen our economy, and process asylum claims more efficiently, so those who are fleeing violence and persecution can come here to live, work, and pay taxes. When I'm in my community, in Las Vegas, whether I'm talking to a big casino owner, or I'm talking to a small business owner, or I'm talking to a construction company, or a renewable energy company – I mean when you look at the economy in my community, it is booming – but the number one issue that gets brought to my attention is workforce issues, and lack of workforce. And that's why this framework is so important, to help build the workforce that our economy needs, address worker shortage, strengthen our supply chain, and most importantly, boost our competitiveness. 

It's no news to you how divided this Congress is. And I believe that we have all understood how broken our immigration system is. But this is the time that calls for us to stand up and show the world the courage that we have, to address the number one issue that has been facing our economy for a long, long time. And that is why I am so glad to join all of these incredible Members, but more importantly to call on my Republican colleagues to, one, let's not use this as it has been used, as a political football for decades and decades. And really get to the hard work, and show the courage that we need to address an issue that affects so many families across this country, and so many businesses. 

And more importantly, when we talk about our national security, it's not just our border, it's not what's happening in Ukraine, in Israel, in Taiwan with respect to China. Probably one of the most significant issues with respect to national security is our broken government. And this is an issue that I think we can show that we need to come together on. And that's why, like Salud, I am optimistic, I am hopeful, and I hope that we can work with our Republican colleagues. Because this is a strong framework, and this is an issue that we need bipartisan action on. So, thank you all, and with that, I will introduce Wiley Nickel from North Carolina.

Rep. Wiley Nickel (NC-13): Thanks so much. Congressman Wiley Nickel, representing North Carolina's 13th Congressional District. Great to be here with Chair Kuster who is leading from the center on this issue with the New Democrat Coalition, and we have wind in our sails. The people of New York's Third Congressional District spoke loud and clear. They want people in Congress, working together in a bipartisan way to solve these problems. And immigration was the number one issue in that race and there was a huge shift. This is a seat that Republicans won in a large way in the last election. Democrats won big and this was the issue. So we have the mandate from the people to start working together, get things done in a bipartisan way.

So North Carolina's 13th District is a hub of innovation and diversity. People with roots from all over the world have come to the triangle to build a prosperous and growing community and our community is stronger because of its diversity. And we need an immigration system that reflects North Carolina's values. Right now, the top issue I'm hearing about from my constituents is immigration and border security. And like so many Americans, my constituents are worried that immigration and border security are being used as a talking point instead of a policy priority. And I agree. Addressing the situation at the border shouldn't be a Democrat issue or a Republican issue. It's an American issue. And let me just say too, we heard from our Senate colleagues, there were 25 Republicans in the Senate who were yeses on immigration reform and border security before Donald Trump opened up his big mouth and started playing politics on this issue. 

Unfortunately, Republicans in the House continue to play partisan political games rather than moving bipartisan bills that can get signed into law. And while extreme House Republicans continue to waste time, House Democrats are working together to find common sense solutions and to deliver results. As a member of the Immigration and Border Security Task Force, I'm committed to working across the aisle to secure our southern border and advance comprehensive immigration reform.

And folks divided government requires bipartisan solutions and we have found the ability to work together and find that common ground and the bills are there. We have the bills, we know that there is support for these bills, we just need to get them to the floor for a vote. And it's time for House Republicans to get serious and come to the table so that we can make sure the American people are safe. Our borders are secure, and immigrants are processed with dignity. Thanks so much. Now I'd like to turn it over to my colleague, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski from Illinois.

Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13): Thank you. Good morning. My name is Nikki Budzinski, I represent the 13th district in Illinois. I am here today to proudly stand with the New Dems, and the Immigration Task Force, and the framework that they have come out with to really solve what I think is one of our more vexing, urgent issues, which is fixing our broken immigration system. 

I want to thank Congressman Stanton and Congressman Carbajal for their leadership in putting forward this framework. This is the number one issue within my district. I represent a district in central and southern Illinois, in the Midwest, that desperately wants to see this broken immigration system fixed. To specifically tackle some of the bigger issues as it relates to the crisis at our border – securing our border is critically important – but also getting to some of the other issues that Congresswoman Lee mentioned, with workforce shortages that we're facing. And we need to create a legal pathway for legal status for those that do want to legally enter our country. 

And so what the New Dems have been able to do is really put together a common sense framework that I'm really proud to stand behind today. To create bipartisan solutions to this vexing issue. I come from a part of the country that sent me to Congress to get things done, and that's why I'm so proud to be a New Dem. It's why I'm so proud to stand with this Task Force and the work that they're doing on immigration reform. 

I think the two things I would just add, in addition to the remarks that my colleagues made, is urgency on this issue. These are crises that we've been facing for far too long, and our constituents are asking for solutions now. That's what this framework has put forward that the New Dems have put forward and I think that calls on immediate action. I think the second thing I would urge is something that Congressman Nickel just mentioned is, let's put aside, let's put aside the partisan politics in the interest of our country and actually move forward with a framework that is going to create real solutions to real problems now. 

I would just add, to my Republican colleagues, don't look to score political points ahead of this November election, let's actually come together on a bipartisan basis to solve one of our more vexing issues, which is our broken immigration system. So very proud to stand here today. Thank you so much.

Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02): And I should mention, Tom Suozzi will be coming back and will be coming back to New Dems where he finds his home in Congress, and I loved his ‘Let's fix it’ slogan, because I think this is what this is all about. He, his campaign manager told me the other night on the phone that they threw everything at him on immigration. It was a tough, tough fight. But what they said is that the voters are looking for pragmatic leaders that want to fix the problem. Not politicians that just want to talk about the problem. And I think that's who New Dems represent, these are the leaders that you see here from all over the country. And that's what our framework is all about. 

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