This Week in Immigration Reform – Week Ending May 3

on May 3, 2013 in Affiliates

Week Ending May 3

This week in immigration reform: NCLR Affiliates and staff meet with members of Congress in their home districts and states before the Senate amends the recently-introduced immigration reform bill S744 this upcoming week; NCLR President & CEO Janet Murguía meets with President Obama and discusses immigration reform; and a new poll finds that most African American voters support immigration reform that includes a roadmap to citizenship.

Top Lines:

NCLR and Affiliates in Action
NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía Meets with President Obama, restates his commitment to getting reform passed
Most African Americans Support Immigration Reform

NCLR and Affiliates in Action:

Affiliates Meet with Members of Congress and staff across the country during work period; thousands march in Las Vegas for reform: NCLR Affiliates and staff multiplied their efforts this week as many members of Congress returned to their home districts and states during the April in-district work period.

Calif.: NCLR Affiliates MAAC Project, La Maestra, PIQE, and Community Housing Works of San Diego met with Senator Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) office in San Diego on May 1, urging her to prioritize family unification during the upcoming amendment process. Affiliates Mission Asset Fund, El Concilio, and CARECEN echoed this message at a meeting with Sen. Feinstein’s office the following day in San Francisco. NCLR Affiliates and partners CRLA Foundation, El Concilio, Parent Institute of Quality Education, The Great Valley Center, Vision Magazine, and Congregation Building Communities met with Representative Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) in Modesto on May 1, asking the Congressman to support immigration reform with a roadmap to citizenship.

Penn.: NCLR Affiliates Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha, El Concilio, and Congreso de Latinos Unidos met with Republican Senator Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) on April 26 and urged him to support the Senate bill as it proceeds through the Judiciary Committee.

N.E.: NCLR ELC Grantee Nebraska Appleseed met with Senator Mike Johanns (R-N.E.) on May 1 and encouraged the Senator to support S744.

Ore.: ELC Grantee Mano a Mano Family Center of Salem Oregon also conducted a member-level meeting this week, visiting Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) on May 1 in support of immigration reform in a meeting that involved a number of Salem community leaders.

Texas: In El Paso, Texas, NCLR Affiliate and ELC Grantee START Center participated in a call with Senator Cornyn’s staff on May 1. START Center also participated in an Immigration Q&A session with Representatives Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas), Filemon Vela (D-Texas) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) on Tuesday, April 30.

Fla.: NCLR’s Miami office and regional partners met with Representative Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) on April 29, thanking the Congresswoman for her support of immigration reform and asking for her continued efforts for reform with a roadmap to citizenship as the House considers reform in the near future.

Natalie Carlier of NCLR Action Fund and representatives of SF Jobs with Justice and ROC meet with Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) (Photo: Natalie Carlier).

Nev.: NCLR’s Las Vegas office participated in a May Day march and rally for immigration reform attended by thousands of community members, over twenty labor, Latino, and immigrant organizations, and several national lawmakers, including Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Rep. Dina Tiutus (D-Nev.) and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.). Senator Reid vowed to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2013, saying “That’s what comprehensive immigration reform is all about: a permanent solution. And we are going to do that. We are going to fix a system that is broken.”

NCLR’s Nevada office also teamed up with business partners to meet with Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) in Las Vegas and urged the Congressman to work toward passing immigration reform including a roadmap to citizenship. Rep. Dina Tiutus (D-Nev.), NCLR Regional Field Coordinator Fernando Romero, and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) at the May Day Rally and March for Immigration Reform in Las Vegas (photo: Fernando Romero).

D.C.: NCLR staff in Washington DC met with a number of offices of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in anticipation of the amendment and mark-up process beginning early next week. Over the course of nearly 70 meetings on the Hill this past month, NCLR staff urged Congress to make the path to citizenship affordable and reasonable, protect workers, and ensure that immigrants have access to the supports they need to integrate into their communities.

NCLR’s Communications team also launched a “Truth in Immigration” series of infographics this week, debuting with a May 1 graphic highlighting the contributions of immigrant workers to our national workforce (see below). Check the “Truth in Immigration” webpage frequently for additional infographics that set the record straight on immigration.

NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía Meets with President Obama, restates his commitment to getting reform passed: NCLR President & CEO Janet Murguía and other Latino leaders met with President Obama at the White House on Monday, in a meeting at which the president again expressed his strong commitment to signing an immigration reform bill that includes a roadmap to citizenship. The president said in a press conference on Tuesday, “I feel confident that the bipartisan work that has been done on immigration reform will result in a bill that passes the Senate, passes the House and gets on my desk.”

Most African Americans Support Immigration Reform: A new poll released by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights finds that most African American voters support immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship, with 66% of polled African Americans in favor of such a proposal.