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Danbury—  State Senator David Cappiello today renewed his call for Congressman Christopher Murphy to keep his promise to his constituents and take action to solve ournation’s illegal immigration crisis by pledging his support for the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement, or S.A.V.E. Act (H.R. 4088).

“Congress has an opportunity to take meaningful action to secure America’s borders and enforce our immigration laws by passing the S.A.V.E. Act into law,” said Cappiello.  “Unfortunately, the stalling tactics employed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have bottled the bill in committee and intimidated even Democrat co-sponsors of the legislation fromrequesting discharge of the bill to the floor for a vote- all despite widespread bi-partisan support.  Itis time for Congressman Murphy to live up to his claims of support for action to address immigration reform by standing up to his leadership and supporting the S.A.V.E. Act.”

The S.A.V.E. Act is a comprehensive border security and immigration enforcement bill that commits significant human and technological resources to stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into America.  151 Republicans and Democrats are co-sponsors of the legislation, with anadditional 37 members signing a discharge petition to force a vote on the bill.

“It isn’t enough to talk about immigration reform when the economic security and safety of our communities are at stake,” continued Cappiello.  “It is time for those in Congress who truly favor reforming our immigration system to stand up and be counted- despite the wishes of one’s party leadership.  He should take this opportunity, rather than perpetuate the stonewalling in Washington that has led to the mess at our borders.”

• Murphy on Immigration Reform:  “It’s an issue no matter where you go…It’s a fairness issue to a lot of people…I’m very critical of Washington and how they’ve approached this issue…we’ve got to do something about it…we have to have a federal response here…I think the solution is to do it in pieces.”  (“Where We Live” Interview, NPR, 7 December 2007)