Valadao urges Trump to move towards legal status for law-abiding immigrants

He suggests in his letter that there needs to be reform and a process created in which the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, who have followed the law, can earn legal status.”

 In a letter sent Tuesday (Feb. 7), Valadao discussed the serious impact immigration has on families and businesses in California's Central Valley.

"As the son of Portuguese immigrants representing a unique and diverse congressional district, I have gained invaluable insight into our broken immigration system," the letter reads. The letter continues, "Like you, I firmly believe securing our borders is an issue fundamental to our national security. However, as we begin to address the issue of immigration reform, it is important to modernize and streamline our current legal immigration system, and create a process by which the eleven million undocumented immigrants currently living in our country, who have otherwise followed the law, can earn legal status and continue contributing to our economy and society."

Since being elected to Congress, Congressman Valadao says he has remained dedicated to repairing the broken immigration system of the United States. His personal connection to immigration, combined with the serious impact policy change will have on his constituents, have provided Valadao with a deep understanding of the issue, especially as it relates to agriculture and our guest worker program. 

In 2013, Valadao was one of only three Republicans to support an immigration reform package, H.R. 15; the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. In 2015, he voted against a defense bill amendment which sought to block undocumented youth from serving in the military. Most recently, Valadao co-sponsored H.R. 496, the Bar Removal of Individuals Who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act.