Last SD Stop for Loretta Sanchez

Beneath the towering murals of historic Chicano Park, Congresswoman and U.S. Senate contender Loretta Sanchez spoke about her plans to usher in immigration reform if  elected to the nation’s Senate. 
Sanchez, who is running against California State Attorney General Kamala Harris to fill Barbara Boxer’s U.S. Senate seat, held her address this Thursday, November 2, in what  was one of many she gave throughout Southern California in an effort to have a strong finish going into Tuesday’s elections. 
“The immigration system of the United States is broken,” Sanchez opened. “As a daughter of two Mexican immigrants, I am determined to achieve immigration reform that is true both to American values and to our present reality.” 
Sanchez didn’t stray from topics related to immigration throughout Thursday’s briefing, in which she accused Congress’ lack of results on a beneficial immigration reform as a product of partisanship. 
“During my time in Congress, my colleagues and I have asked President Barack Obama to help us pass a bill, but congress has failed to fix this dysfunctional immigration policy because of politics, because of prejudice, and complacency,” Sanchez said to the media. “I have also supported the Dream Act to give undocumented students a chance to contribute to the nation’s growth.” 
“During my first 60 days as a United States Senator, I will introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will [bring forth] comprehensive immigration reform and a path to equal citizenship while upholding our law and protecting our borders and national security all while bringing hard working people out of the shadow economy”, Sanchez continued. 
Sanchez also brought attention to entry bars into the United States that are imposed upon departure from the United States on people who entered the country without proper documentation. 
“We need to end the three and 10 year bars. We have families who need to leave for 10 years, leaving their children behind. If you leave your loved ones behind, then they are left alone in the shadows. I will call on congress to repeal those three and 10 year bars so that our families can stay together.” 
Another goal Sanchez spoke about in regards to migration was providing unaccompanied Central American minors who arrive to the U.S. a fair audience in front of a judge, as many are immediately detained and processed, but never get a court date to talk about their situation in front of an immigration judge. 
Sanchez also expressed her intent to shut down private detention centers, many of which make heavy profits off of the incarceration of immigrants. 
“I believe that detention is a government function. We should not privatize it and we should not have [companies] making a dollar off people desperately seeking to be in the U.S.” 
After the press conference, Sanchez travelled north to continue her campaign with stops in the Los Angeles area. A recent poll by the Orange County Observer places Kamala Harris 21 points ahead of Sanchez in the U.S. Senate race. If elected into the United States Senate, Sanchez would be the first Latina to ever serve in such a post.