We are deeply disappointed that the Senate missed a historic opportunity to fix our nation’s broken immigration system in a just, meaningful and comprehensive way. We strongly believe that America deserves an immigration system that protects all workers within our borders and at same time guarantees the safety of our nation without compromising our fundamental civil rights and liberties. The bill adopted by the Senate yesterday failed to satisfy those fundamental principles.

Instead of raising working standards for all workers by providing a fair path to citizenship to the 12 million undocumented workers currently living in our communities, the Senate adopted the framework of the fatally flawed Martinez-Hagel compromise, which creates an undemocratic, unjust and unworkable three-tiered society that denigrates and marginalize millions of immigrant families. That three-tiered approach creates a caste society in which millions of hard-working immigrants are driven further into the shadows of American society, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

We are also disappointed that the Senate adopted the greedy corporate model of addressing our nations’ future needs for workers--guestworker programs-- instead of crafting a mechanism to ensure that future foreign workers come into the US with full rights and as full social partners. We are heartened by the fact that the Senate substantially reduced the size of the new H2C guestworker program and added many worker protections that were missing from earlier versions of the proposed legislation. Clearly, the Senate recognized the exploitative nature of guestworker programs and their detrimental effects on US workers and foreign workers alike.

We echo the concerns expressed by civil rights, religious and community leaders about the erosion of civil liberties and other fundamental rights embodied in the Senate bill. Further, we stand behind immigrant workers and immigrant communities around the country, who have expressed deep concerns with the Senate bill because, among other things, it creates deep divisions within immigrant communities and leaves millions of immigrants in the shadows.

This is not the time to start popping champagne corks. Our work is far from over. As the only national organization in our country dedicated exclusively to standing up for working people, we will continue to fight for workers’ rights and for a strong blanket standard of treatment that makes no exceptions and that benefits the middle-class as a whole.

Contact Esmeralda Aguilar 202-637-5018