New York, NY, June 28, 2007 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called the U.S. Senate's vote to block action on the immigration reform bill, "an enormous setback for a nation of immigrants."

ADL has urged the adoption of comprehensive immigration reform which combines increased border security with measures such as a path to citizenship for many undocumented immigrants and a future flow of legal labor.

Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

The failure to adopt immigration reform is an enormous setback for a nation of immigrants that owes its establishment, its growth and its development to the fact that immigrants have always felt welcome and protected and been given all of the equal opportunities that America affords.  While the bill was far from perfect, it was a meaningful step toward a solution that is now stalled.

We cannot afford to surrender in the face of these stubborn facts: Illegal immigration will continue, the ranks of the vulnerable, undocumented underclass will continue to grow, and hostile local ordinances will continue to target immigrants and undermine community policing efforts.    We urge Congress not to throw up its hands but to continue working and to enact reform which serves America's security, humanitarian, and economic interests and promotes family reunification.

We are also concerned that the resistance to sound immigration policy is now being stoked by anti-foreigner propaganda that is being mainstreamed in the debate in new and very disturbing ways.  It is important for all of us, including Congress, to stand strong against the divisive and sometimes xenophobic undertones of the public debate on this issue.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.