This Week in Immigration Reform — Week Ending September 18
Week Ending September 18
This week in immigration reform: NCLR President & CEO reflects on Donald Trump’s rhetoric; Highlighting Citizenship Day; and NCLR Vice President participates in panel on immigration reform.
NCLR kept the community informed with staff quoted in The Washington Post.
NCLR President Reflects on Donald Trump’s Effect on Republican Presidentials Hopes: This week saw the unfolding of the three-hour marathon that was the second GOP Presidential debate. Ahead of the event, NCLR President & CEO Janet Murguía wrote about the impact Donald Trump has had on the now-16 candidate field, calling his effect on the Latino vote a “gaping wound” for the Republican Party. “Trump has succeeded—aided and abetted by the rest of the Republican field—in making the immigration debate as toxic and as far from real solutions as it has ever been,” Murguía writes. Polling numbers seem to reflect Hispanic reactions to this toxicity, as a recent MSNBC/Telemundo/Marist poll shows only 22% of Latino voters voting for Trump in the upcoming election. “In the meantime,” Murguía concludes, “Latinos are responding against this demonization in the most American of ways: immigrants who are eligible are becoming citizens, and those who are citizens are registering to vote.”
Citizenship Day Arrives to Full Fanfare from NCLR: In case you missed it, our nation recognized Citizenship Day on Thursday, celebrating those among us who have recently become U.S. citizens. Across the country, organizations, including NCLR affiliates, held citizenship workshops, classes, and phone drives to help lawful permanent residents work to attain U.S. citizenship. At NCLR’s Annual Conference this past summer, Board Chair Renata Soto spoke on what it means to her to be an American: “It’s a disposition, an attitude, a tenet, a duty to fight for and build a community where everyone belongs and everyone can become fully all who they are, empezando con nuestra propia comunidad.” NCLR has released blog posts, graphics, and publications regarding this momentous day, a handful of which are available below.
- Graphic: Citizenship Impact on GNP
- Publication: Legislative Analysis: New American Success Act of 2015
NCLR Senior Cabinet Advisor Participates in Panel on Immigration Reform: This past Tuesday, NCLR Senior Cabinet Advisor Charles Kamasaki participated in an event titled, “Immigration Reform and Administrative Relief: 2014 and Beyond,” hosted by the Center for Migration Studies. The event, following up a report detailing the resources required to coordinate a successful large-scale legalization program, discussed the report’s key findings and next steps in order to achieve full implementation following President Obama’s executive actions in November 2014.
The report found that this increase stretches thin the resources and infrastructure established by immigrant-serving organizations. Further analysis indicates that there is a potential nonprofit sector shortfall of about $83 million for effective services, given the projected needs of expanded DACA and DAPA participants. Despite these costs, the benefits of these executive actions still make the programs worth it, to both the DACA/DAPA population as well as the American population in general.
