NEW HAVEN – U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal will join New Haven Mayor John DeStefano and Connecticut advocates on Friday to rally support for the newly passed immigration reform bill.
The rally will take place at 1 p.m. at the Office of JUNTA for Progressive Action on Grand Avenue in New Haven.
The rally comes just one day after the Senate soundly passed the immigration reform bill 68 to 32.
If passed by the House, the bill would create a 13-year path to citizenship for roughly 11 million undocumented residents. The bill would also raise the cap on visas for high skilled workers, establish a new visa program for low skilled workers on America’s farms, and boost border security. A newly added amendment would require 20,000 more border agents and would require the completion of 700 miles of fence.
House Speaker John Boehner says the House will craft its own bill with tougher security requirements before paving the way to citizenship.
“We’re going to do our own bill, through regular order, and it’ll be legislation that reflects the will of our majority and the will of the American people,” Boehner said. “For any legislation – including a conference report – to pass the House, it’s going to have to be a bill that has the support of a majority of our members.”
There are concerns that the Republican-led House will not be able to reconcile its differences with the Senate.