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Lawmakers Head To NYC To Generate Ideas On Immigration Reform

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some members of Congress broke away from the Beltway this weekend and came to New York to visit local immigration sites.

As WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola reported, it was hoped that the experience would help them work on immigration reform legislation.

Lawmakers Head To NYC To Generate Ideas On Immigration Reform

"You know, on the issue of immigration reform, we all know it's absolutely broken and a bipartisan failure," said U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.)

He was in New York along with Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and other leaders with the Faith and Politics Institute congressional delegation. Crowley said the group has seen the immigrant experience close up.

"This is a bipartisan effort to bring members of Congress to the epicenter of immigration today – in the U.S., once again, New York City," he said.

Diaz-Balart said if the problem were easy to fix, it would have been fixed long ago.

"We have millions of people here undocumented," he said, "and if we don't deal with that reality, we're not dealing with a big part of the problem."

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