The IIC believes in the Statue of Liberty's welcome to the tired, the poor and the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free." We are working hard to make our nation's immigration laws consistent with that promise.

Today's immigrants should have the opportunity to build a better life for their families, as did immigrants of centuries past. Yet these newest members of US society find themselves lost in a broken and outdated immigration system. Federal immigration laws tear families apart, subject immigrant workers to exploitation and force too many to live in a state of fear and insecurity.

We believe that the basic human rights of newcomers must be upheld if we are to honor the ideal of the US as a nation of immigrants. At the federal, state and local levels, the IIC advocates in support of legislation that upholds immigrants' rights and makes their dreams closer to reach.