This Week in Immigration Reform – Week Ending October 11

This week in immigration reform: thousands march and rally for reform in Washington, DC and hundreds – including eight members of Congress – are arrested in an act of civil disobedience; new polling shows that Republican voters in three GOP-held districts would look favorably upon lawmakers who work across the aisle to pass immigration reform; and NCLR and its Affiliates march, rally, and hold vigils around the country to remind Congress that we will keep fighting until we get immigration reform.  NCLR staff kept the community informed in a number of news items this week, with staff quoted in stories in in NBC Latino, El Mundo (Texas), KTAR-AM, CNN México, and Democracy Now!.

• Thousands march, hundreds arrested for reform in DC.   On October 8th thousands of people pushed for immigration reform to get a vote in the House of Representatives by marching and rallying for reform on the National Mall in Washington, DC.  The afternoon featured a concert by Los Tigres del Norte and Lila Downs, as well as remarks from a bipartisan group of Representatives including Reps. Jeff Denham (R-CA-10), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL-27), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25), and David Valadao (R-CA-21).  NCLR’s own Janet Murguía introduced Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL-4), who led a delegation of eight Representatives to the Capitol where they and over 160 advocates were arrested in an act of civil disobedience.

Los Tigres del Norte, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and NCLR’s Janet Murguía at the Oct. 8th rally and march.

Abel Nuñez, Executive Director of NCLR Affiliate CARECEN (Central American Resource Center), prepares to be arrested for protesting the House’s inaction on immigration reform.

NCLR assembles before the Oct 8 rally and march for immigration reform.

• New polls in GOP-held districts show that working to pass reform would help an incumbent’s electoral prospects.  Recent polling conducted in the 10^th, 21^st, and 22^nd Congressional Districts of California (represented by Reps. Jeff Denham, David Valadao, and Devin Nunes, respectively) confirms that Republican voters would be more likely to vote for candidates who work across the aisle to pass immigration reform legislation.  The polling was conducted by Magellan Strategies for PICO National Network and America’s Voice.

• Prominent conservatives Abraham and Gutierrez tout the economic benefits of reform for Michigan.  “Immigration reform is a secret weapon that can help unleash the full power of the U.S. economy,” and will add thousands of jobs and bring hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity to Michigan, Spencer Abraham (a former Republican U.S. senator from Michigan who served U.S. Secretary of Energy under George W. Bush) and Carlos Gutierrez (a former CEO of Kellogg who served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under George W. Bush) write in an October 6 piece published in the Detroit Free Press.  For the sake of jobs and our economy, the two conclude, immigration reform cannot be put off any longer.

Across the country conservative business and political leaders are making the case for reform.  If you know a conservative leader who hasn’t spoken out yet, ask them to.  As economic boosts go, passing immigration reform is a no-brainer.

• NCLR and Affiliates in action.  The weekend of Oct. 5^th saw thousands of advocates take to the streets of over 160 cities to call for immigration reform in a nationwide “March for Immigrant Dignity and Respect.”   Many of NCLR’s Affiliates were involved in the weekend’s events.  Below are a few examples:

Idaho: NCLR Affiliate Community Council of Idaho marched for reform on October 6^th.

North Carolina:  NCLR Affiliate Latin American Coalition and former Emerging Latino Communities partner Action, NC held a vigil for immigration reform in Charlotte.

Also in North Carolina, NCLR Affiliate El Pueblo delivered 630 signatures to a petition calling on Rep. George Holding (R-NC-13) to work for immigration reform to Rep. Holding’s office on October 4.

Ohio:  Former Emerging Latino Communities (ELC) grantee HOLA (Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula) rallied for immigration reform across Ohio this week, holding rallies, vigils, and marches in Lorain, Chagrin Falls, Painesville, Norwalk and Akron and drawing extensive local media coverage.

Texas: In Houston, NCLR Affiliates Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA), American Latino Center for Research, Education and Justice (ALCREJ), Houston Gateway Academy (HGA), and KIPP Houston organized a delegation of nearly two hundred advocates to march for immigration reform in front of Houston’s City Hall.

NCLR Affiliates:  To share your recent meetings on immigration with your members of Congress, please fill out the report-back form on our website.