Immigration advocates and immigrants alike have lost an ally in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform. Senator Ted Kennedy championed the cause of immigration as early as 1965 when he was given the task of pushing legislation to eliminate immigration quota systems.
His other accomplishments in the area of immigration reform include a Bill introduced in 1980 that established refugee resettlement, a 1986 Bill that brought 2.7 million immigrants out of the shadows providing them with legal status, a 1990 Bill that brought an influx of high-skilled workers to the United States, and most recently, co-sponsoring legislation with Senator McCain that attempted to overhaul our nation's broken immigration laws.
I have had the opportunity to deal personally with his office when he reached out to me in order to help the wife of a missing soldier in Iraq who was in jeopardy of being deported in 2007. Senator Kennedy's unsolicited assistance helped to bring legal status to a woman who was in the grips of mourning the loss of her husband. As a result of the assistance of Senator Kennedy my client was granted a green card and allowed to remain in the United States.
Needless to say Senator Kennedy will be missed by this immigration advocate.
Rest in peace Senator Kennedy.
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