NEW YORK, NY – A newly-introduced plan to repair the nation’s broken immigration system is a welcome breakthrough that could bring 11 million people out of the shadows, unify American families and stabilize our communities, members and officers of 32BJ SEIU said today.

“It makes us all stronger,” said 32BJ member Juliana Peters, a commercial cleaner originally from Dominica. “People shouldn’t have to live in fear when they are just trying to make a better life for their families.”

32BJ President Héctor Figueroa praised the bipartisan group of Senators, particularly Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), for their efforts to finalize and introduce an immigration bill worthy of America’s values as a nation committed to freedom and entrepreneurship.

“We commend the Senate bipartisan committee and are encouraged by the bill released today – it offers real hope for millions of aspiring citizens tired of living in fear and is a significant step towards fixing our broken system once and for all,” Figueroa said. “We recognize that this bill is result of hard work and compromise, designed to accommodate various needs and at times competing concerns. Our foremost commitment is to pass legislation this year that offers a reasonable path to citizenship for the 11 million aspiring citizens waiting in the shadows, creates a plan for future flow with worker protections, reunites families who have been torn apart for far too long, and heals families already here by ending deportation proceedings.

“We are encouraged to see these elements in the proposed legislation and will work tirelessly to preserve them while striving to remedy problematic elements of the bill,” he said. “We see our work as a long-term commitment to mobilize and organize for humane and reasonable immigration policy that builds our economy, strengthens our communities and contributes to the innovation and energy that makes this country great.”

32BJ has been a leader in the fight to bring 11 million people out of the shadows and put them on an earned path to citizenship. The members and officers are committed to working with members of Congress to address concerns about border security, while making sure that the roadmap to citizenship for the millions of aspiring Americans isn’t thwarted with unreasonable barriers.

With more than 125,000 members, including 70,000 in New York, 32BJ is the largest property services union in the country.