Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08), whose mother immigrated to the United States from Thailand, joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) this week in Chicago to highlight the pressing need for common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform that will keep families together and boost the American economy as well as our businesses. Recounting the difficulty of being separated from her own mother at a young age even though both the Congresswoman and her father were U.S. citizens, Duckworth called on Republican leaders in Congress to allow votes on practical, fair and humane bipartisan proposals to fix our broken immigration system, including her ENLIST Act, which would enable undocumented immigrants who are willing to earn legal status by showing their commitment to the United States serving in our Armed Forces.

“I know just how complex and broken our immigration system is from personal experience,” said Congresswoman Duckworth. “I was born in Thailand and when my family moved back to the United States we were separated from my mother for several months while she waited for approval to enter our country, even though she was married to an American citizen and was the parent of two American children. At the same time, my family was struggling to get by on food stamps. I was hungry and scared and I needed my mom there. I can only imagine how a two or three year old child must feel in a similar situation. We are a better nation than that. And the way we show it is to do the right things for both our economy and for so many hardworking undocumented immigrants living in our country by working toward comprehensive immigration reform.” Duckworth, Durbin and Gutierrez spoke at the Resurrection Project, a faith-based community organization working to help develop the community by fostering local relationships in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, during a panel discussion hosted by the Illinois Business Immigration Council. After the panel discussion, each member also answered questions from reporters in attendance.