This Week in Immigration Reform – Week Ending November 1
Week Ending November 1
This week in immigration reform: Rep. Jeff Denham, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Rep. David Valadao sign on to the House immigration reform bill H.R. 15; 600 leaders from business, faith, and law enforcement assemble in D.C. to urge their members of Congress to work on passing immigration reform legislation; NCLR and the “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan release a video calling the public to action on reform; a new study by the Bipartisan Policy Center finds that passing reform would cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion; and NCLR Affiliates meet with their members of Congress and thank those lawmakers who support reform. NCLR staff kept the community informed as always this week, with staff quoted in stories in Univision and the Inside Bay Blotter.
—Republican lawmakers sign on to immigration bill H.R. 15. Heeding the desires of their constituents, several Republican lawmakers have signed on to co-sponsor H.R. 15, the immigration reform bill introduced in early October by House Democrats that contains bipartisan-backed provisions from the Senate immigration bill as well as the border security bill passed unanimously by the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) became the first Republican to sign on to the bill this past weekend, and was joined this week by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.).
Members of Congress also took to the House floor to make the case for immigration reform this week. Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Pete Gallego (D-Texas), Joe Garcia (D-Fla.), and Mark Takano (D-Calif.) spoke about the costs of inaction and the benefits to our economy and our communities of passing immigration reform. Follow @NCLR on twitter to retweet thanks to these Representatives!
—Business, faith, and law enforcement leaders come to DC to push for reform. 600 conservative leaders came to Washington, D.C. this Tuesday Oct. 29 to meet with their members of Congress and urge them to pass immigration reform legislation. The diverse coalition of conservatives, organized by groups including Bibles, Badges, and Business, the US Chamber of Commerce, Fwd.us, and the Partnership for a New American Economy, included business leaders, farmers, evangelicals, and law enforcement officials from across the country.
We are proud to report that two of our partner organizations were involved in this effort. NCLR Affiliate Latino Memphis met with Rep. Stephen Fincher on Tuesday, and former Emerging Latino Communities (ELC) grantee HOLA (Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula) met with Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio).
Shawn Roberson of Latino Memphis meets with NCLR’s Laura Vazquez in preparation for his 10/29 meeting with Rep. Steve Fincher (R-Tenn.).
–Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, calls public to action on reform. NCLR and Cesar Millan released a PSA this week in which the “Dog Whisperer,” himself a former undocumented immigrant, encourages the public to call their members of Congress in support of immigration reform. Check it out in English and en Español.
English:
Spanish:
–New bipartisan study shows reform would cut deficits by $1.2 trillion. A new study by the Bipartisan Policy Center finds that passing immigration reform would boost economic growth, increasing overall economic growth 4.8% over 20 years, adding $68 billion in construction spending to the housing industry, and reducing deficits by $1.2 trillion over the next two decades.
NCLR and Affiliates in action.
- California: NCLR Affiliates and staff in California organized this week to thank Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) for his support of immigration reform. This past weekend, the California lawmaker became the first Republican cosponsor of the House immigration reform bill HR 15. Since, he’s been joined by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. David Valadao.
The following photos come from NCLR Affiliate El Concilio, located in Rep. Denham’s district:
NCLR Affiliate TODEC Legal Center also thanked Rep. Denham for his support:
