Kelly: “We’re a nation of immigrants. We’re also a nation of laws. And we’re fully capable of honoring both.”

"That kind of progress will take a bipartisan effort, but it is absolutely within reach, and it is absolutely worth fighting for."

Today, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Representatives Gabe Evans (R-CO-08), Don Bacon (R-NE-02), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27), and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04) alongside veterans, families, faith leaders, farmers, and employers, held a press conference to highlight commonsense solutions with bipartisan support to start fixing our broken immigration system.

Kelly shared the stories of military families targeted by this administration. Earlier this month, Kelly helped secure the release of Annie Ramos, the newlywed wife of a U.S. soldier who was detained on base. Last year, Kelly met with Maria Pelaez, the mother of an active U.S. Marine, who was being held in ICE detention in Arizona.

Sen. Kelly speaks on Capitol Hill.

Watch the full press conference here. See key excerpts from Kelly's remarks below:

Kelly emphasized that building an immigration system that is fair and actually works is something most Americans can agree on: "I think most of us, most Americans can agree that we can enforce our laws without chaos in the streets or tearing hardworking families apart, and that our country would benefit from an immigration system that is fair and actually works. Instead, what we've seen in Arizona is the targeting of law abiding, hardworking individuals, including dreamers, grandmothers, business owners, veterans, and in some cases, even young children."

Kelly shared the story of Maria, the mother of an active-duty Marine, who was detained by ICE despite her son's service to the country: "When I sat there with her in detention, I asked her if she went to the graduation when her son graduated from boot camp at Parris Island. She said she had. And I said to her, 'How did that make you feel when your son became a U.S. marine?' She started crying. She told me how proud she was of what her son has accomplished and how he is going to defend their country."

Kelly also talked about Annie Ramos, a military spouse detained on base just days after her wedding: "About a year ago I was on a trip to Ukraine, and when I was in Poland, I had dinner with a group of Arizonans. One of them was a guy named Sergeant Matthew Blank. I never thought I would see this guy again. And I never expected that the next time I would talk to him, it was because his new wife, Annie Ramos, was now in an ICE detention facility just days after they got married. She was detained on base as they were signing her up for her spousal benefits […] She went from the base to an ICE detention center.

"Military spouses are serving their country as well. Now, I'm grateful that Secretary Mullin made the right decision here to release Annie. He did it rather quickly, too. But her life is not back to normal. She has a deportation order. She's wearing an ankle bracelet. She has to report every single week. Now, how does that make us stronger or better as a country?"

Kelly closed with a call for bipartisan action: "We are a nation of immigrants. We're also a nation of laws, and we're fully capable of honoring both. We can build an immigration system where people like Maria and Annie have a pathway to staying here without the constant fear of detention and deportation. That kind of progress will take a bipartisan effort, but it is absolutely within reach, and it is absolutely worth fighting for."