Congresswoman Elise Stefanik fully backs attempts to force Congress to hold debates dealing with the fate of young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors. Stefanik was one of the first 17 in the so far 215 members of Congress to sign a discharge petition to force the floor of the House of Representatives to debate several different bills related to immigration.
Stefanik says she wants the current logjam cleared so that legislation can be drawn up to fix the current immigration system of the US, which she describes as broken, telling the Post Star on Friday that Congress has been punting on the issue for far too long. Two of the Congresswoman’s priorities are to assist companies that rely on seasonal workers and aid agricultural businesses, such as dairy farms.
Stefanik points out that the backlog for farms waiting months to get seasonal workers, many of whom have been performing the same work for decades, is so significant that it is affecting their ability to have their products reach the market. On Friday, three more signatures were needed for half of the membership of the House to have signed the petition and force the bills to hit the floor.
One of those bills, the Hurd-Aguilar bill, has been co-sponsored by Stefanik. She believes it offers a worthwhile balance between giving a pathway to legal status to Dreamers while also focusing on border security.