Tell the Senate: equal treatment for US citizen spouses in immigration reform

To the United States Senate,

The highest priority for legal immigration includes American spouses and children. That isn’t an opinion. Here’s how it works: while there are exceptions, the rule that distinguishes legal immigrants from illegal immigration is that legal immigrants are invited – by Americans.

The only numerically unlimited category includes the spouses of US citizens. It is our right as Americans to marry for love without being forced to choose between marriage and our country.

A failed immigration law passed in 1996 destroyed the balance between the right of a US citizen to sponsor their wife or husband, and immigration offenses that do not rise to the level of crimes. Rather than enact effective steps to stop illegal immigration, Congress persists in pointless cruelty.

Every plan to legalize the undocumented population, including DREAMers, includes 'waivers of inadmissibility'. We want those same waivers to be available to US citizens who sponsor their spouses. Whether it is a narrow 'stepping stones' bill or comprehensive immigration reform, the rights of US citizens must be included.

We want whatever they get.

Signed,