This Week in Immigration Reform – Week Ending September 20

Week Ending September 20

This week in immigration reform: NCLR’s own Janet Murguía urges eligible Latino Permanent Residents to become citizens and engage in civic life; members of Congress call for reform as a commonsense solution that will give our economy the shot in the arm it needs; support for reform continues building as more than 100 corporate executives and over 100 university and college leaders urge Speaker John Boehner and their Congressional delegations to pass immigration reform; and NCLR and its Affiliates march for immigration reform and hold naturalization workshops for aspiring citizens.  NCLR staff kept the community informed as always this week, with staff quoted in stories in Univision, the New York Times, the Associated Press, and Hoy (Los Angeles). 

—Janet Murguía calls on Latino Permanent Residents to pursue citizenship and engage in civic life.  NCLR President & CEO Janet Murguía marked National Citizenship Day on Tuesday, Sept. 17^th by giving remarks at a naturalization ceremony at the Bob Dole Institute at the University of Kansas.  Janet encouraged Latino Permanent Residents to revitalize America’s civic life by becoming citizens, voting, and running for public office.  Check out the NCLR blog for Janet’s take on Citizenship Day.

NCLR also marked the day by participating in a “#hazteciudadano” Twitterchat on Tuesday evening.  NCLR, along with partners such as Ya Es Hora, led the chat by taking questions from the public on how to become a citizen.

—Voices in Congress call for reform:  Members of Congress continued to make the case for reform this week as the House worked on resolving financial and budget issues.  Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) organized a Special Order where he and his colleagues spoke on the House floor on the urgency of passing immigration reform legislation with a road to citizenship.  Members of Congress who spoke on the House floor included:

• Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.)
• Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)
• Marc Veasey (D-Texas)
• Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.)
• Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas)
• Bill Foster (D-Ill.)
• Lois Capps (D-Calif.)
• Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.)
• Joe Garcia (D-Fla.)

NCLR highlighted the floor speeches by live-tweeting them and encouraging others to follow along using the hashtag “#cirmeansjobs.”

Reps. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) and Matt Cartwright (D-Penn.) noted in a Sept. 18^th op-ed that reform that includes a road to citizenship will strengthen the American economy by increasing wages for immigrants who become citizens, with these gains then leading to increases in consumer spending, business profits, and public revenues.

Rep. Linda Sanchez also pointed out the economic benefits that comprehensive immigration reform will bring in a Sept. 18^th letter to her House colleagues, in which she highlighted the overwhelming support for reform among small business owners as well as the number of small and large businesses that are started by entrepreneurial immigrants in America.   Watch the whole event below.

—Outpouring of support for reform from business executives, higher-ed leaders.  Immigration reform continues to build momentum across the country as leaders from diverse sectors of society write to Congressional leadership urging them to pass immigration reform legislation this year.

Recently more than 100 chief human resource officers of major corporations wrote to Speaker of the House John Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi, urging the House to pass immigration reform legislation this year.  Among the more than 100 corporations who signed on to the letter were AT&T, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, McDonalds, The Service Master Company, Shell, and UPS, and Verizon.

In a separate initiative, over 100 university and college leaders stepped up this week and urged their Congressional delegations to pass immigration reform legislation in an effort organized by the Partnership for a New American Economy.

 NCLR and Affiliates in action.

• North Carolina:  27 Permanent Residents took the first steps toward becoming American citizens at a naturalization workshop hosted by NCLR Affiliate the Latin American Coalition on Sept. 14^th.
• Texas: The NCLR Action Fund marched for immigration reform this Saturday, Sept. 14^th in San Antonio’s annual “16 de Septiembre” parade.
  

 The NCLR Action Fund marching for reform in San Antonio, Texas on Sept. 14th.