Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)

In 2007, Congress and the President worked on legislation that would reform immigration law and policy. While many compromises were reached, the legislation did not have enough support and failed. This failure has meant that many of the problems in our immigration system have continued – such as not enough visas and visa backlogs – and additional problems have arisen – such as local governments' enactment of state and local-level laws on this federal issue, confusion and rights violations at the workplace, and an uncertain future for the millions of families with undocumented immigrant workers. It is expected--and hoped – that Congress and the new President will try again for CIR in 2009.

IWJ Materials on Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)

Key Elements of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
IWJ statement and recommendations for federal law regarding immigration, May 2007

Flawed Immigration Bill Could Be Worse Than Inaction
IWJ policy statement, Spring 2007.

Links and Further Reading

Interfaith Immigration Coalition
Major denominational and other faith organizations have joined to work together toward comprehensive immigration reform. Read the 2007 Interfaith Statement on Immigration Reform.