Bob Menendez: “the legislation currently before us curtails the ability of American citizens, or U.S. permanent residents, to petition…”

“the legislation currently before us curtails the ability of American citizens, or U.S. permanent residents, to petition for their families to be reunified here in America. Right now, if the bill goes untouched, this bill sets two different standards for groups of people, and it sets it in a way that is fundamentally unfair. One group is those who have followed the law and obeyed the rules by having their U.S. citizen relative or U.S. lawful permanent resident petition to bring them into this country legally, and one more favorably--it treats the next group much more favorably, one who has entered or remained in the country without proper documentation. So those who have obeyed the rules, followed the law, relatives of U.S. citizens, get treated in an inferior way to those who have not followed the law, who get treated in a better way. Let me explain how. The Menendez-Hagel amendment simply states that at a minimum, the two groups should be treated equally under the bill. Our amendment is about fundamental fairness.”