Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received unanimous applause from audience members at the United Fresh and FMI Connect conventions on Tuesday after arguing for major revisions to U.S. immigration policy.
In one of her most outspoken arguments for this discussion, Clinton said she believes “strongly in immigration reform” but has been “somewhat bewildered” by the immigration debate in Washington, according to CNN.
“Everybody I talk to personally, Democratic and Republican alike in the leadership of both houses, know we have to have immigration reform,” Clinton explained. “Part of the strength of the vitality of our economy is the fact that people still want to come to this country, make their stake, prove themselves.”
She noted that she hopes Congress will consider policy changes this year.
Coincidentally, these remarks came on the same day her new book, Hard Choices, went on sale. The autobiographical memoir is said to lay the groundwork for a possible 2016 presidential bid, according to Bloomberg.
During her speech, Clinton scolded people who “are scared because there is a small minority of people in public life and those they represent who don’t seem to understand one of our strongest and most important attributes is that we are still a nation of immigrants.”
She was later interviewed on stage by Stewart Resnick, the founder of Wonderful Brands and Democratic Party supporter, in a question-and-answer session to continue the discussion on immigration reform.
Although President Obama has indicated that immigration reform was one of his top priorities for his second term, it has seen little movement in the House of Representatives, CNN reports. Late last year, House Speaker John Boehner insisted that although immigration reform was “absolutely not” dead, he had “no intention” of negotiating with the Democratic-led Senate over its immigration proposal, CNN reports. A number of Republicans would rather pass immigration in smaller bills, rather than a comprehensive bill.
The discussion is full of “hard choices,” indeed. As Clinton persists in her advocacy for immigration reform, we will have to continue to wait and see when Congress will get around to making these changes.
