Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate passed its comprehensive immigration reform bill:

“I was proud to cast my vote today on the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill, legislation to finally address our broken immigration system. The Senate bill—which passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis—reflects concessions and compromises from both sides of the aisle. It is a balanced bill that meets the dual goals of a pathway to citizenship and increased border security.

“The bill includes several provisions important for California. I am especially pleased with the creation of a new Blue Card program for legal status and a pathway to citizenship for current undocumented farm workers. The bill establishes two new agricultural visa programs to make sure farmers are able to legally hire future workers when local workers are unavailable. The bill also helps tech companies hire workers in science and technology fields while protecting American workers from wage suppression and displacement.

“California relies on immigrants more than any other state, and while we’ve talked about reform for many years, today we finally took a concrete step to achieve it. This bill will bring undocumented individuals out of the shadows and put them on a path to proudly and openly contribute to our society. My hope is the House will take up this bill as soon as possible, put the country’s needs ahead of politics and pass this bill.”

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