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November 20, 2014

NATIONAL COALITION OF LATINO ORGANIZATIONS WELCOMES PRESIDENT’S ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION ON DEPORTATION RELIEF

Washington, DC – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 39 of the nation's preeminent Latino organizations, welcomed President Barack Obama’s announcement of his plan to grant affirmative relief from deportation to around five million undocumented immigrants. NHLA has urged the President to take action on deportations throughout the year, lifting the voices of Latino immigrants and family members impacted by the harsh realities of deportation, and making the case for how he could use his administrative authority to provide the broadest possible relief.

“Our coalition welcomes and strongly supports President Obama’s announcement that he will use his administrative authority to provide relief from deportation to individuals across America who love this country and are an integral part of our families, our communities, and our economy. By acting to address our nation’s broken immigration system, the President’s plan will enable millions of people to keep their families unified, continue to pursue their education and career goals, and contribute even more to our nation’s tax revenue, economic growth, international competitiveness, safety, and security. We look forward to learning more about the details of the President’s plan in the coming days and working with his administration to ensure its success,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

“In light of Congressional gridlock and inaction, we welcome the President’s needed, legal and sensible decision to use an executive order to address our broken and dysfunctional immigration system. With this announcement by the President, change is finally coming to America. While executive action is no substitute for long overdue legislation, this historic victory changes the status quo for millions of Latino families, providing them the opportunity to stay unified, work and live in a country they call home. As we’ve said before, if Congress won’t act to protect our families and communities, then the President must. We continue to call on Congress to act immediately, robustly and comprehensively to provide a permanent legislative solution for our nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants. We will not rest until we have a just, humane, and inclusive immigration policy reform in the United States,” said José Calderón, President of Hispanic Federation.​

“It is appropriate and necessary that the President exercise his undoubted constitutional and statutory authority to implement affirmative immigration relief,” stated Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel. “Appropriate because of the fair expectation of presidential leadership on issues of such great national import, and necessary because of the dire urgency of now; we simply must pursue immigration policies that better serve our national interests and better reflect our country’s core principles.”

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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. In 2013, NHLA launched the Latinos United for Immigration Reform campaign. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.