Ga. Latino advocate says Obama immigration decision an 'important step forward'

ATLANTA - Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) says President Obama's immigration announcement Thursday night is an "important step forward" for immigrants and their allies.<br /> <br /> "This is an historic moment...in over 25 years of working towards a solution to our broken immigration system," Gonzalez said. "We rejoice with the millions who will be able to come forward, get a work permit and lift the burden of fear of deportation off their family's shoulders. This decision by President Obama will be transformative for millions of families across the nation and hundreds of thousands of families in Georgia."<br /> <br /> He added the process to allow many people to come forward for work permits and temporary status, along with the ending of Secure Communities will go a long way to ensure that as a nation, "we shift prioritizing resources to deport felons and not families."<br /> <br /> In Georgia, he said, 116,000 undocumented immigrants reside with a U.S. citizen child. If these immigrants are able to apply for deferred action, it would lead to a $170 million increase in tax revenues, over five years, Gonzalez said. (See http://www.scribd.com/doc/247296797/Economic-Benefits-of-Executive-Action-in-Georgia ) <br /> <br /> "President Obama's action is an important step forward for the work ahead of fixing our broken immigration system, but it does not replace the work that is needed to pass a comprehensive fix with Congressional action. The President had to act because of inaction in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has been over 512 days since the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill that would permanently address our immigration issues in this country." <br /> <br /> Instead of complaining about the President's actions, Gonzalez added, Congressional leaders need to get to work and demonstrate to the American public that they too can lead and govern, by passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will override the need for Executive Action and address the broken immigration system once and for all.