This Week in Immigration Reform – Week Ending November 8

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Week Ending November 8

Republican Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan meets with NCLR Affiliate Hispanic American Council and commits to working with House leadership to pass immigration reform legislation; the President and prominent business leaders discuss the need for immigration reform; Reps. Gwen Moore and Dina Titus write letters to their House colleagues detailing the importance of immigration reform for women; and NCLR , its Affiliates, and partner organizations continue fighting for reform by driving calls into Congressional offices, meeting with House lawmakers and their staff, and holding community forums with House members.  NCLR staff kept the community informed as always this week, with staff quoted in the Harvard Political Review, NBC Latino, Digital First Media, EFE, and News Taco. 

—Rep. Fred Upton, Michigan Republican, fully committed to getting immigration reform done.  In a meeting with NCLR Affiliate Hispanic American Council (HAC) this past Friday, Nov. 1, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) assured HAC Executive Director Lori Mercedes that he is committed to working with House leadership on immigration reform, calling it “the right thing to do, the humane thing to do” and noting that inaction on reform is not an option.
 ImmReform_update_11_8_2013_pic1HAC Executive Director Lori Mercedes, HAC Board Member Robert Cinabro, HAC organizer Adrian Vazquez, HAC Board Member Pedro Sanchez, and Rep. Fred Upton.

HAC has been in contact with Rep. Upton and his staff for months on the subject of immigration reform, and has worked with the Congressman’s office on immigration cases for 11 years.  While appreciative of Rep. Upton’s ringing endorsement of and commitment to work on reform, HAC plans to continue to urge Rep. Upton to work with House leadership to allow a vote on immigration reform.

—President, business leaders discuss the need for reform.  President Obama met with a number of prominent business leaders this Tuesday Nov. 5 to talk immigration reform and the myriad benefits it would bring to American companies and our economy.  Among the assembled executives were top figures from companies represented on NCLR’s Corporate Board of Advisors, such as McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer, Donald Thompson, and Ed Rust of State Farm.

President Obama also met with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) at the White House this Thursday to discuss the way forward on immigration reform.

—Reps. Moore and Titus: Women need immigration reform.  Reps. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) circulated letters to their colleagues in the House this week on the importance of immigration reform to women.

Both “Dear Colleague” letters called on Congress to pass immigration reform legislation that takes into account the particular contributions and needs of immigrant women.  Rep. Titus focused on the high percentage of undocumented women working in the informal economy, while Rep. Moore called for reform that protects immigrant women from situations of domestic violence.

Read Rep. Titus’ letter here and Rep. Moore’s here.

NCLR and Affiliates in Action

  • California:   NCLR Affiliate TODEC Legal Center drove calls in support of immigration reform into Rep. Gary Miller’s (R-Calif.) office last Friday, Nov. 1.  TODEC volunteers contacted registered voters in San Bernadino County, who urged Congressman Miller to work with House leadership and bring immigration reform legislation to a vote on the House floor.

    TODEC also directed calls to Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) office this Thursday.

  • Colorado:  The NCLR Action Fund and partner organizations hosted Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) for a community roundtable on moving immigration reform forward this Wed., Nov. 6 in Denver.  State Senator Jessie Ulibarri moderated the event, while the three lawmakers discussed the urgency of getting to work on reform in the House and took questions from the audience.  Check out Univision Colorado’s coverage of the event here.

ImmReform_update_11_8_2013_pic2Reps. DeGette, Polis, and Perlmutter discussing the need for immigration reform.

ImmReform_update_11_8_2013_pic3The crowd at Wednesday’s roundtable on immigration reform.

  • Florida:   The NCLR Action Fund partnered with the Young American Dreamers to drive calls into Rep. Dennis Ross’ (R-Fla.) Polk County office on Friday, Nov. 1.  The two groups contacted registered Latino voters in Polk County and encouraged them to call Rep. Ross’ office asking the Congressman to work with leadership to give immigration reform a vote on the House floor.

ImmReform_update_11_8_2013_pic4Members of the Young American Dreamers conducted a phone bank with the NCLR Action Fund this past week.

  • North Carolina:  NCLR Affiliate El Pueblo met with staff of Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) this Thursday Nov. 7 to urge the Congressman to encourage House leadership to consider immigration reform legislation.
  • Pennsylvania:  The NCLR Action Fund met with Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Penn.) this Thurs. Nov. 7th.  The Action Fund urged the Congressman to push House leadership to give immigration reform a vote on the House floor.

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