Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard’s congratulates El Rescate’s Board President Francisco Rivera (pictured right) on the organization’s 25 years of serving immigrant families in Pico Union at the organization’s anniversary gala dinner at the Park Plaza Hotel in Pico Union. Founded in 1981, El Rescate (translated “The Rescue” in English) was the first organization founded in the United States to provide free legal and social services to refugees fleeing the war in El Salvador during the 1980s. Today, in addition to providing these and other critical services to immigrant families, the organization promotes the broader goal of economic empowerment through the creation of credit unions to help immigrant families achieve financial stability in this country. During the congresswoman’s congratulatory remarks, she also emphasized the importance of comprehensive immigration reform.

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The following is the full text of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard’s remarks:

“As tonight’s Honorary Chair, it is with a great deal of pride that I welcome you to El Rescate’s 25th Anniversary Dinner.

Tonight we pay tribute to El Rescate’s twenty-five year history of service and advocacy on behalf of the immigrant community.

From its initial response to the mass influx of refugees fleeing the war in El Salvador—providing them with free legal and social services, to its critical support of programs in Pico-Union such as Comunidades Federal Credit Union, MAYA Vision, and Clinica Romero, El Rescate has a powerful history of providing a voice for the dispossessed.

For the past 25 years, El Rescate has been indispensable to thousands of families who might otherwise have been without an advocate and access to critical legal services.

I am proud to have worked with El Rescate over the years as a partner in their struggle for immigrants rights.

As you all know, we still have much to do, and I am hopeful that with the new Democratic Congress we can begin to make necessary changes to enhance the lives of immigrants living in this country.

We have started that process with the introduction of comprehensive immigration reform introduced last week in the House of Representatives with the support of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

While there are provisions of this bill that will not be supported by all sides of the immigration debate, we have to recognize that the hallmark of successful legislation is that no side gets everything it wants. We need to keep our eyes on the prize of reforming our broken immigration system in a way that protects our families.

This bipartisan measure—HR 1645, the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy or “STRIVE Act”—includes visa reforms that help reduce backlogs, and would establish a new worker program that creates a legal channel for future immigrant workers.

Perhaps most importantly, the STRIVE Act lays out a clear path to legalization for undocumented workers who are currently living in the United States.

In addition, the STRIVE Act includes the provisions of the American Dream Act, which I introduced earlier this year with my colleagues Representatives Howard Berman and Lincoln Diaz-Balart. This legislation will enable qualified immigrant students to apply for legal status, complete their education and pursue professional careers after graduation.

Under current federal law, thousands of talented undocumented youth, who were raised and educated in this country, are unable to pursue a higher education.

In most states, their immigration status requires them to pay exorbitant out-of-state tuition rates at colleges and universities. Enactment of this legislation is critical to our efforts to provide our students the access to the education they deserve and the opportunity to achieve their dreams.

As El Rescate looks to its next 25 years, we come here tonight to applaud your achievements, and to honor six individuals for their tireless efforts in furthering the goals of this organization and for their commitment to the immigrant community.

Please join me in congratulating and recognizing:

• Isabel Cardenas
• Gilma Lissette Perez
• Almudena Bernaben
• Ricardo Garcia-O’Meany
• Todd Howland and
• Jaime Hill Tonoco

Thank you all for your dedication to this cause.

I would now like to invite Board President Francisco Rivera to join me.
Francisco, it is my pleasure to present you with this Certificate in honor of El Rescate’s 25th Anniversary, which reads:

Certificate of Congressional Recognition presented to El Rescate, In honor of your 25 years of exceptional leadership, service, and advocacy on behalf of the immigrant community.

Congratulations to you, the staff of El Rescate, and to all those here who continue this important struggle.”

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