MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) -- Some Wisconsin state Legislators are urging federal lawmakers to keep working on resolving the immigration issues.
One of them is State Representative Mandy Wright of Wausau, who joined a handful of Republicans and many Democrats in sending a letter to Congress seeking comprehensive immigration reform.
Wright says it’s a federal issue, but it affects central Wisconsin... especially the agriculture sector. “We need to ensure that agriculture has a stable workforce. We know that a lot of the immigration issues stem from that situation where we need a work force, we need jobs, and people willing to work these jobs.”
Wright is hopeful Congress will pass immigration reform soon and address concerns that many on both sides of the aisle agree on. “I do think it is important that we have a pathway to citizenship for people that are already here. We want to make sure that, you know, they pass a background check, they pay their taxes, they’re good citizens, and I also think it is important that we protect our borders and we make sure that people that are not going to be good citizens don’t have easy access.”
The letter to Congress has been sent from the Wisconsin delegation. Wright acknowledges that Marathon County has even discussed the immigration issues since there are many farm workers from places like Mexico, and not having a good immigration and guest worker policy could be hard on area agribusinesses.