Editor's note: Rep. Jared Polis, a Democrat, represents Colorado's 2nd Congressional District and is appearing in CNN.com's "Freshman Year" series along with Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah. Jared Polis says America's immigration system is broken and urgently needs reform. (CNN) -- Twelve-year-old Josh Garcia courageously took the stage. Fighting back tears, he told how he came home from school one day to find that his father had been taken into an immigration detention facility. His father, an entrepreneur who had created dozens of jobs, was "exactly the kind of person we want in this country." And there wasn't a dry eye in the place as this young American boy told the audience how the next time he saw his father, he was traumatized to find him "in a prison" surrounded by men with guns.
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Jared Polis: America urgently needs to reform broken immigration system
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He says the public supports comprehensive immigration reform
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America's strength comes from being a nation of immigrants, Polis says
Josh Garcia
The audience listened with rapt attention as @placeholder and several other Americans directly impacted by our broken immigration laws recounted their haunting tales.
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And this phenomenon is not unique to @placeholder; throughout the country, Americans agree that it is time to reform our broken immigration system.
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@placeholder agree that comprehensive immigration reform is fair to both taxpayers (81 percent agree) and illegal immigrants (79 percent agree), and 91 percent agree that the comprehensive proposal would help taxpayers by making illegal immigrants pay taxes.