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Immigration News

The Immigration Bill: An Historic First Step

Posted by Sarah English on April 17, 2013

The 844-page immigration reform bill released early this morning is a victory on many fronts.  Spokesperson for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) Kica Matos called it a “monumental achievement for our movement.”

To learn more about the specific provisions of the bill from Gang of 8 member Sen. Robert Menendez and to ask questions, join a community call tonight at 8pm ET.  Text LISTEN to 228466, and you will automatically receive a call this evening that will dial you in to this important national conversation. If you want to listen in Spanish, text ESCUCHA to 228466. The Spanish call will be held at 9pm ET.

The bill will provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of the undocumented immigrants living in the United States today and serves as an historic first step toward a more just immigration system.  But the bill is just that—a first step.  FIRM and its partner organizations will continue to work with Congress to make improvements on some of the weaker aspects of the bill.

The cutoff date, for instance, automatically prevents hundreds of thousands of families from becoming eligible for citizenship.  In addition, the 13-year path to citizenship is an unreasonable length of time and should be shortened considerably.

In a statement, Matos explains that FIRM also opposes all so-called “triggers,” saying, “Our families’ well-being should not be conditioned on arbitrary border measures or any political or bureaucratic process which holds their loved ones hostage to regulations over which they have no control.”

The current draft of the bill also fails to include important provisions about family unity, LGBT families, and the diversity visa program.  Immigrant-rights organizations around the country will continue to put pressure on Congress until these measures are made a priority.

Petra Falcon, Executive Director of immigrant-rights group Promise Arizona, said in a statement, “We’re not happy with everything in the bill, but we’re glad Congress is paving a path to citizenship for the undocumented, and we plan to continue to work diligently in the coming weeks to guarantee the final bill unites immigrant families and respects their enormous contributions to our society.”

The Florida Immigrant Coalition, Arizona Comprehensive Immigration Reform Coalition and the Alabama Immigration Advocates are among the groups that have already held press conferences in response to the newly-released bill, in which they reacted to the draft and outlined their next steps.

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Congress must move quickly on immigration

Posted by Sarah English on April 11, 2013

By Kica Matos, Center for Community Change

What does it take to get Congress to listen?

On April 10, more than 100,000 people from 31 states descended on the nation’s Capitol to send a strong message that now is the time for immigration reform.

Thousands of immigrant families knocked on Congress’ door and met with policymakers while in Washington, telling their stories about the urgent need for compassionate, comprehensive legislation.

500,000 people have contacted their Senators over the past few months, urging them to act on a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented men, women and children living in our country.
Labor, civil rights, environmental, LGBT and other progressive leaders and activists joined immigrant rights organizations to demonstrate their solidarity and a commitment to reform.

Public opinion clearly shows that voters want to change our inhumane and broken immigration policies that tear families apart. A recent poll by The Washington Post showed that 70 percent of all voters support creating a path to citizenship.

Families across the country resoundingly support immigration reform, so why is Congress stalling?

Several months ago, the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” held a press conference to announce their immigration principles. They said to expect a bill in early March. No bill was introduced.

The Fair Immigration Reform Movement – a coalition of the largest immigrant rights organizations – set a deadline of March 21 for a bill to be introduced. They missed that deadline too.

Last week, we heard it would be this week. Today, we heard it would be tomorrow.

We do not take seriously promises in the press that a bill is just around the corner.  Promises to our families have been made year after year, election after election, news cycle after news cycle.  All of those promises lie as shattered as every family who is missing a mother, a father, a sister or a brother.

No promises, excuses or spin can counter these two facts:

1. There is no bill.

2. Our families remain under the siege of a broken system and our communities continue to be devastated by overzealous enforcement by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Every day that Congress fails to address our broken immigration system, 1,100 families are torn apart, workers continue to suffer abuse and children are traumatized by the loss of a parent.

As our families continue to suffer, our communities are getting more frustrated and angry at the politicians delaying progress. Politicians must choose people over politics.

At the April 10 rally, we heard from a mother, Elia, who has fought for six years to be reunited with her three children. We heard from a 17-year-old immigrant from Colombia, Kathe, whose mom is working two jobs so that she can go to college. She inspired the crowd to action when she said, “It is unacceptable that the system does not recognize my mom for who she is because we don’t have legal status. I am tired; tired of seeing my mother being oppressed and denied of work opportunities, not because of her skills but because of a nine digit number that apparently defines a person in this country.”

For Elia, for Kathe, for the 11 million families living in this country without legal status,  we cannot wait any longer.

We expect our leaders to lead. The Gang of Eight and the entire Congress must realize that we will not be silent while lives hang in the balance.
The rally on April 10 delivered a resounding message: Now is the time to pass immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship.

Granting the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country anything less than full citizenship undermines the foundations of American democracy, which are built on the idea that all people – regardless of skin color or country of origin – are created equal.

Americans are ready for a solution to this problem and the policymakers who stand in the way of reform do so at their own peril. Voters want immigration reform, families need immigration reform and we won’t stop fighting until we get immigration reform – done right and done now.

Matos is director of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice, Center for Community Change.

Originally posted on The Hill

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Agenda for April 10th Rally

Posted by Sarah English on April 8, 2013

Wednesday, April 10th, tens of thousands of immigrants and supporters will unite on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol at 3:00p.m. in support of common sense immigration reform now that includes citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people living in this country.  The Rally for Citizenship will showcase multi-sector support for immigration reform and elevate the personal stories of those impacted by the crisis – both immigrants themselves and their family members, co-congregants and neighbors. Listed in their order of appearance:

Rally Kick-Off – Co-MCs Gustavo Torres, President of CASA in Action, and Jaime Contreras, Vice-President of SEIU 32BJ, will describe the political moment that inspired the rally.
 
Local Media Heroes – Deejays and media personalities who have long supported immigration reform will rev up the crowd.

La Santa Cecilia – Indy-Latin fusion band La Santa Cecilia will perform their new release El Hielo (ICE) – a song with heartbreaking lyrics that convey the impact of our broken immigration system.

Interfaith Service – Religious leaders will lead rally-goers in prayer, each according to his tradition, but unified in the theme of “love thy neighbor” and how it relates to a prophetic call for compassionate immigration reform.

Elizabeth Alexander – Ms. Alexander was the inaugural poet at the 2009 presidential inauguration and she is the chair of Yale’s African American Studies Department. She will read an interpretation of her inaugural poem in English and Spanish.

Local Politicians – D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Arlington Board of Supervisors Chair Walter Tejada, and Maryland Senator Victor Ramirez will welcome attendees to Washington, D.C.; they will be joined on stage by other local officials including D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells and Montgomery County Councilman Hans Riemer.

Families of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement – Kathy Tabares, a young undocumented activist from New York, will share her story while surrounded by the executive directors of the largest grassroots immigrant rights state organizations in the country.

Members of Congress – Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-04-IL) will speak on behalf of other heroic Members of Congress.

Labor – Mary Kay Henry, President of SEIU, Bob King, President of UAW, and Lily Eskelsen, Vice President of the NEA, will share the stage with other union presidents from the Laborers International, the American Federation of Teachers, Communication Workers of America and others.

Andy Andy– Bachata sensation Andy Andy will perform two of his most popular numbers.

Asian-American Pacific Islander Organizations –  Representatives from the nation’s leading Asian-American Pacific Islander Organizations will describe the importance of family unity as a core component of immigration reform.

Keynote – Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, will give a speech highlighting the intersection of civil rights and immigrant rights while surrounded by leadership from local branches of the NAACP.

America Coming Together – From environmental to youth groups, many of the most influential political organizations in the U.S. recognize that the immigration crisis impacts us all. Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will speak on behalf of the progressive movement and will be joined on stage by leaders of the nation’s most impactful progressive organizations.

Alvaro Torres – Famous romantic crooner Alvaro Torres will sing his most popular song.

Children and Families – Wendy Cervantes, Vice President of Immigration and Child Rights Policy for First Focus and Maryland school teacher Eric Luedkte will talk about the impact family separation has on children. Maryland youth advocate Macky Fofana will tell his personal story of living with the fear that his parents will be deported.

Local Families – Elia Lizzet de la Cruz Valencia fought for six years to be reunited with her three children. Elia will share her story and sing a song she wrote while being held in an Arizona detention center. Ricardo Campos will close the rally with the uplifting story of how local families created the rally.

Immigrant Rights Activist and Grammy-award winning music star Olga Tañon – Human rights defender, peace activist and multi-Grammy-winning artist Olga Tañon is an international music star considered to have one of the most powerful voices in Latin music. She has focused her powerful influence in support of immigration reform. Ms. Tañon has built an extraordinary cadre of artists to support the Campaign for Citizenship. She will describe this work and sing some of her most popular numbers.

Dolores Huerta – Ms. Huerta is a labor and civil rights activist who together with César Chávez co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Broadly recognized for her advocacy for workers’, immigrants’ and women’s rights, Ms. Huerta is a beloved hero in the long struggle for respect for immigrant communities. Ms. Huerta will join Ms. Tañon on stage to issue a powerful call to action.

Click here to register for this event!

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