U.S. immigration system slammed as ‘1965 highway’ by Rockford attorney

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A presentation on the U.S. immigration system was held by the League of Women Voters of Freeport at the Freeport Public Library, featuring immigration attorney Sara Dady from Rockford.

Dady criticized the current U.S. immigration system as outdated, describing it as a ‘1965 highway in the 21st century.’ She highlighted the numerous barriers, such as literacy tests and a history of racism, that make it difficult for people to become legal citizens.

“We have a 1965 highway in the 21st century,” Dady said. “The proposed solutions to fixing our immigration system always seem to include closing lanes, making it harder, having fewer ways for people to apply to immigrate to the United States.”

Dady emphasized that while most people agree on the United States’ right to control its borders, the current system is fraught with challenges that are difficult to overcome for those seeking citizenship.

She also noted that Customs and Border Protection officers have the capacity to process 1.1 million people daily through all U.S. ports of entry, underlining the scale at which the system operates.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.