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An unlikely congressional twosome came together in Chicago on Monday to call for comprehensive immigration reform.
Chicago Democrat U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez was joined by Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan in an appearance at the City Club of Chicago wherein they argued that immigration reform is even more urgent on the heels of the Boston bombings. According to WBEZ, they are hoping to push a yet-to-be-introduced immigration reform bill through the House by the summer's end.
"I would say for the sake of our national security we want to modernize our immigration laws," Ryan said ahead of a speech on Monday, according to NBC Chicago.
Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Monday at the City Club that his first priority in immigration reform is to secure the U.S. border prior to expanding legal immigration within the country through initiatives including a "guest worker" program, Fox Chicago reports.
Gutierrez added, according to the Chicago Tribune, that a comprehensive immigration plan would allow for the federal government to "go after the truly bad guys" at a time when it spends more money per year on immigration enforcement than it does on the FBI.
Earlier Monday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had urged Congress to delay work on immigration reform in Washington after the Boston attacks.
"We should not proceed until we understand the specific failures of our immigration system," Paul wrote in a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
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