Cecilia Munoz Quotations

The only way something gets through is on a bipartisan vote.

Let's take a deep breath here. I guess what's frustrating is that Senator Kerry was just at our conference making terrific proposals that would benefit the immigrant community.

Cardinal Mahony speaking out unleashed something really big. He, the church, made this issue public in a very profound way.

If we pass reforms that either pretend they're not here or pretend they'll go away, we're fooling ourselves.

We are expressing our hopes that the Senate will do something different.

It is a bill that has driven more than a million people out this week.

I think, ultimately, this committee can report out a bill.

It doesn't really deal with why people are migrating or why our economy is so dependent on their labor. The resourcefulness of people on both sides of the border is likely to be greater than a fence.

I think it will be warfare in the Senate.

Without a Dr. King-like figure, we lack the capacity to create that personal connection, not just within our own community but with folks on the outside. Someone with that kind of visibility is really useful in terms of educating people.

We do think it's workable. We're encouraged by it.

We couldn't possibly support a proposal that says you can work here, but you can never be apart of our society.

The outpouring of anger in the community is combined with the hope that the Senate will do better.

Though he is relatively new to Washington, he has blended right in as an advocate because he knows what he's talking about. He has a great passion for the community.

There are 11 million people living and working in the United States. This bill ultimately does nothing about that.

We are calling on leadership on both sides of the aisle to get back to it. The life of millions of people are at stake here. Folks are going to demand that Congress step to the plate and act.

That one fact is why people are not coming through legal channels.

This is not something to be playing politics with. The lives of millions of people are at stake here.

There was real progress today, enormous progress today. We knew from the beginning that you need a bipartisan proposal in order to pass the Senate. That appears to be what the Judiciary Committee is proposing.

It's a dangerous game the Republicans are playing.

I'm not sure anybody totally understands this phenomenon. ... But we are happily stunned. We're all very aware that this is history in the making, and the country will be transformed by it.

If you want to create a permanent underclass, this is the way to do it.

If federal authorities are using this as an enforcement opportunity, it creates a moral dilemma for us in how do we advise our constituents.

This is a gesture to the xenophobic wing of the party, and that is alarming. It threatens extraordinary harm to people.