LOS ANGELES, July 25: The House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said on Wednesday he plans to introduce a bill that would grant legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants.
The measure, he said, would legalize immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years and worked in the country for two years.
“Our proposal will bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and into the light of accountability and greater cooperation in our fight against terrorism,” Gephardt said at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, a civil rights group, in Los Angeles.
The crowd of about 3,000 gave Gephardt a standing ovation.
“We are all immigrants unless we’re Native Americans,” the Missouri Democrat said. “There are probably millions of immigrants in this country who have done everything we’ve asked them to do. They’ve worked, they’ve stayed out of trouble, they’ve obeyed the laws, they’ve helped their families, and they would like an opportunity.
The House Democratic caucus has been working on a proposal that “recognizes the hard work of immigrants” by granting them legal status, he said. The bill will be introduced within two weeks, Gephardt said.
He said he didn’t know how many undocumented immigrants the proposal could affect but it would apply to people from all countries. The United States has an estimated 8 to 9 million undocumented immigrants.
During her speech, Cecilia Munoz, a La Raza vice president, estimates Gephardt’s proposal would apply to about 3 to 4 million undocumented immigrants. She said about 60 percent to 75 percent of those would be Hispanic, while many of the rest would be Asians.
