This Week in Immigration Reform — Week Ending May 27

Week Ending May 27

This week in immigration: overwhelming majority of Latinos favor pathway to citizenship; and efforts to highlight the humanitarian side of the immigration debate.

Nine in 10 Latino voters support pathway to citizenship, according to new poll: A new Fox News Latino poll shows an overwhelming majority of Hispanic voters support establishing a path to legal immigration status for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. The survey, conducted in May, shows 90% of Latino voters nationwide in favor of a pathway to citizenship, with only 6% favoring deportation and 4% unsure. “I’ve never seen that high a consensus before” among Latinos on illegal immigration, said Brent Wilkes, the national executive director of LULAC. “That’s something that is really amazing.”

Hispanic Federeation president writes op-ed on administrative relief case: “Decades ago, my parents, immigrants from the Dominican Republic, overstayed their visas, and became like so many others before and after them, undocumented.  Those years, years when my parents worked tirelessly to build a life for themselves and our family, were ones of fear and worry in our home. They knew that despite working, being active in their communities, paying taxes, and contributing to the greatness of their new nation, they were one deportation order away from losing it all.” These are the words of Jose Calderon, Hispanic Federation president, in an op-ed published this week in The Hill. Reflecting on the oral arguments in United States v. Texas, Calderon seeks to highlight the effects the decision will have on millions of families nationwide, including those with American citizen children. “Congress has done little in more than twenty years to address the very real failures and shortcomings in our immigration system.  They have opted for punitive laws and harsh enforcement over sensible and humane policies that would bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and into full participation in our society… I’ll be watching and waiting; thinking of my parents and the men and women who, like them, have risked everything to make a better life in America and, in turn, have made America better.”

In an effort to further shed light on the humanitarian side of this issue, child advocacy group, First Focus, created a series of PSAs featuring children of immigrants addressing their fear that their parents will be deported. The PSAs, which can be viewed here, will air in nine states and Washington, D.C. as part of the organization’s new “My American Story” campaign.