--- title: Gloria Steinem Calls Immigration Reform a Women's Issue description: The women’s rights community is not giving up on immigration reform. Though the bill that hurtled the Senate is likely dead in the water in... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7180233/a-feminist-call-for-immigration-reform-as-momentum-stalls-in-congress/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-11-20T14:15:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-18T06:23:24.690Z article:section: Politics og:title: Gloria Steinem Calls Immigration Reform a Women's Issue og:description: The women’s rights community is not giving up on immigration reform. Though the bill that hurtled the Senate is likely dead in the water in... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7180233/a-feminist-call-for-immigration-reform-as-momentum-stalls-in-congress/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf70392d311601f08/698a9cda457a528d9fd717b8/immigration_grod1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4464 og:image:height: 2511 og:image:alt: Immigration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gloria Steinem Calls Immigration Reform a Women's Issue twitter:description: The women’s rights community is not giving up on immigration reform. Though the bill that hurtled the Senate is likely dead in the water in... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf70392d311601f08/698a9cda457a528d9fd717b8/immigration_grod1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) # A Feminist Call For Immigration Reform, As Momentum Stalls in Congress > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=64b18f4f-0771-42f2-99fd-700ce853df11&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Nov 20, 2013 2:15 PM UTC  People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013\. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013\. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) AP by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Nov 20, 2013 2:15 PM UTC The women’s rights community is not giving up on immigration reform. Though the bill that hurtled the Senate is likely dead in the water in the House, women’s groups took to the National Press Club on Tuesday to focus attention on the impact immigrant laws have on women—using the star power of feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem to propel them forward. “A vote against immigration reform, or inaction on this issue,” said Pramila Jayapal, the co-chair of the women’s immigration group We Belong Together, “is really a vote against women, children, and families.” Women make up about 51% of the immigrant population, according to the Census.“The truth of the matter is,” Steinem said Tuesday, “there is an unrealistic portrayal of who immigrants really are.” Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Congressman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) were also among Tuesday’s speakers. Hirono said a number of women’s issues aren’t taken into account in reform legislation. Though there are provisions geared directly at easing citizenship for those employed in the science, technology and agriculture fields, there are no protections for domestic workers, the majority of whom are women. “Our new immigration system is inadvertently disadvantaging women,” said Sen. Hirono, who voted in favor of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Act in June. Royal-Allard, on the other hand, just wants an opportunity to vote on the bill. “Let’s at least get a vote,” she said. “If we get a change to vote in the House, it will pass.” Last week, however, Speaker of the House John Boehner told [reporters](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/11/13/john-boehner-just-put-immigration-reform-on-life-support/) that he doesn’t intend to go to conference on the Senate’s immigration reform bill and he will not allow any House-passed legislation to blend with the Senate version. President Obama said on Tuesday that he is optimistic that reform will pass, adding that he is open to dealing with immigration reform in bites at the [Wall Street Journal CEO Council](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/11/19/live-blog-wsj-interviews-president-obama/) conference. “If they want to chop that thing up into five pieces,” President Obama said. “As long as all five pieces get done, I don’t care what it looks like as long as it’s actually delivering on those core values that we talk about.” At the same event, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said there is not enough time to take up immigration reform during this session. Gloria Steinem told TIME, however, that even without a vote the movement to bring women to the forefront of conversations surrounding immigration reform will continue. If a vote doesn’t happen, Steinem said, “It means danger. It means insecurity. And it means we have to take care of each other by other means.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7180233/a-feminist-call-for-immigration-reform-as-momentum-stalls-in-congress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7180233/a-feminist-call-for-immigration-reform-as-momentum-stalls-in-congress/"},"headline":"A Feminist Call For Immigration Reform, As Momentum Stalls in Congress","datePublished":"2013-11-20T14:15:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T06:23:24.690Z","description":"The women’s rights community is not giving up on immigration reform. 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