Readout of Secretary Johnson’s Meeting with Organizations Committed to Passing Bipartisan Immigration Reform

For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010

WASHINGTON—Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson met with important stakeholders from across the country to discuss the need for commonsense immigration reform, and hear firsthand their comments and perspective on a wide range of immigration issues. The meeting was part of Secretary Johnson’s focus on the effective and sensible enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws, including the ongoing review to assess how the Department of Homeland Security can conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law.

As part of that effort, Secretary Johnson has been taking a hard look at these tough issues, meeting with a range of stakeholders and employees, and assessing where we can further align our enforcement policies with our goal of sound law enforcement practice that prioritizes public safety.

During the meeting, Secretary Johnson underscored his focus on supporting the passage of commonsense immigration reform this year – which remains the only path to fixing our broken immigration system.

Participants in today’s meeting included:

• Josh Bernstein, Director of Immigration Policy and Strategy, Service Employees International Union
• Greg Chen, Director of Advocacy, American Immigration Lawyers Association
• Ron Coleman, Government Affairs Manager, California Immigrant Policy Center
• Joanne Lin, Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union
• Brian Erickson, Policy Advocate, ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights
• Jose Manuel Escobedo, Deputy Director for Policy, Border Network for Human Rights
• Kamal Essaheb, Immigration Policy Attorney, National Immigration Law Center
• Marshall Fitz, Director of Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress
• Matthew Ginsburg, Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO
• Melissa Crow, Director of the Legal Action Center, American Immigration Council
• Giev Kashkooli, Political/Legislative Director, United Farm Workers
• Richard Morales, Detention Prevention Coordinator, PICO National Network
• Royce Bernstein Murray, Director of Policy, National Immigrant Justice Center
• Jumana Musa, Consultant, CAMBIO
• Brittney Nystrom, Director for Advocacy, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
• JJ Rosenbaum, Legal and Policy Director, New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice and National Guestworker Alliance
• Linda Sarsour, National Network for Arab American Communities
• Paromita Shah, Associate Director, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild
• Silky Shah, Interim Executive Director/Communications Director, Detention Watch Network
• Tania Unzueta Carrasco, Immigration Strategist, National Day Laborer Organizing Network

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov.

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