Some lawmakers on both sides of the U.S. Southern border are asking for a stop to deportations of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. until comprehensive immigration reform laws are passed.

The foreign delegates from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, on a two-day visit to Capitol Hill, pledged to work with their U.S. counterparts to fix the immigration system, which they said has led to a “family crisis” in Mexico and a staggering loss of life along the border. They also promised to help improve security, which they said was of paramount importance, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The U.S. lawmakers involved include California Congresswoman Hilda Solis(who comes from a Mexican/Nicaraguan background), Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Massachusetts Representative James McGovern, and Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky. No U.S. Republican lawmakers took part in the Washington D.C. meetings and not surprisingly some Republicans had strong opinions about the proposal and those supporting it.

“Millions of people are working in this country illegally and sending home billions of dollars in remittances. Those dollars help to prop up corrupt and incompetent governments,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo. “What is discouraging is the apparent willingness of those two groups to put other countries’ interest above our own,” he said.
Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Rep. Brian Bilbray, R- Calif., chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, said that Mexican officials should be looking at the problems in their own country that cause so many to leave before criticizing the United States and that a moratorium on deportations will only increase illegal immigration.

Also present at the meetings was the son of Elvira Arellano.

So what do you all think? Is a moratorium on deportations a good idea in order to force the U.S. Congress to seriously work on immigration reform?

Via / Univision.com and Contra Costa Times