Tag Archives: Immigration reform

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Immigration reform bill

06/06/2013 Nativegrl77

We are fast approaching the critical moment that our movement has made possible: S. 744, the bipartisan immigration bill, is expected to be introduced to the full Senate early next week for debate, amendment and a full vote.

We must keep up the pressure to ensure the bill we have been fighting for continues to move forward.

Dial 888-891-3271 or click here to call your Senator now.

We have proven the power of our movement before. Our calls, faxes, and contacts to the Senate helped advance the bill this far — but as this bill moves to the full Senate, it will be even more vulnerable to amendments that could jeopardize the path to citizenship for millions of families.

Dial 888-891-3271 or click here to call your Senator in support of reform with a path to citizenship.

The Senate has the opportunity to make history by passing a reform law that keeps families together and strengthens our country by creating a pathway to full citizenship. We must make sure that the Senate passes this important bill. Millions of American families depend on it.

Click here to be immediately connected to your Senator and tell them to support immigration reform.

With hope,

Donna De La Cruz Reform Immigration FOR America

P.S. We need your help to ensure that Congress hears our message. Forward this email to your friends — together we will make immigration reform a reality!

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CUNY Honors The International Youth Association (TIYA)

05/16/2013 Nativegrl77

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The Black Institute’s (TBI) subsidiary organization The International Youth Association (TIYA) will be honored at CUNY’s first annual Murphy Institute Scholarship fundraiser. The Co-Founders Alden Nesbit and Mikhel Crinchlow will participate in a pre-event symposium where they will present their organizing plan for the immigration reform campaign as well as future campaign plans.

Thursday, May 16, 2013 Click here to go to the event page.

For years several grassroots black-immigrant rights groups have been advocating for immigration reforms pertaining to Caribbean and African communities including family reunification, a pathway to citizenship for temporary status holders and affordable fines and fees associated with new citizenship. The International Youth Association (TIYA) has been instrumental in organizing the youth effort to be heard in the debate and has called for widespread changes to be made to the current Immigration Reform compromise.

This awards ceremony and symposium is a celebration of TIYA’s work but there is still so much more work to be done. TIYA believes our communities will not thrive under the current compromise because of the DREAM Act provision, backlog and triggers, and the elimination of the Diversity Visa Program. This first attempt at Comprehensive Immigration Reform is a valiant effort. But, it is clear that there is a lot of work ahead. Immigration Reform cannot be comprehensive nor common sense if it is exclusive and unfair.

Goals of The International Youth Association for the Outcome of Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

Comprehensive reform of Immigration policy to include protections for recruited immigrant professionals and their children (e,g, an expedited pathway to Green Card status, a special category that includes recruited professionals from non-STEM disciplines, etc.).
Fulfill the promises of citizenship, education and job opportunity to recruited immigrant professionals and their families, including “aged-out” immigrant children.
End the criminalization and detention of immigrants, and implement safeguards to protect against racial profiling and ensure due process for all immigrants.
Reunite families torn apart by current Immigration policy by expanding benefits to include extended family, and altering the current DACA guidelines to allow children up to the age of 20 to enter the US.
Lessen the economic burden caused by current Immigration policy by investing resources and decreasing processing fees.
Expand the focus of the Immigration reform discourse to include the needs of Black immigrants and their children, who are often marginalized and ignored. This includes amending the language of the DREAM act to include children of immigrant professionals, and allowing the voices of Black immigrants to be heard.

Please help support our Organizing and Immigration Work. The gift that you give today will help our small but effective staff work to shed light on the issues that plague Black communities; empowering our men, women and children to speak out against injustice, maltreatment, ineffective government, poor public policy, inadequate and inefficient social service programs, and poor working conditions. Any amount you can give will help further our mission.

Please make a tax deductible donation or become a monthly Sustainer TODAY.

https://theblackinstitute.nationbuilder.com/make_a_donation

The Black Institute http://www.theblackinstitute.org/

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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: These two little girls lost their mother to cancer, and their father to the U.S. immigration system

05/15/2013 Nativegrl77

WATCH ON MOBILE | SEND THE GIRLS A MESSAGE!

Nikte and Ixchel are missing both of their parents this mother’s day. They’ve lost their mother to cancer and their father was deported because of this country’s broken immigration system. It’s time to stop separating families. Immigration reform must protect families like Nikte and Ixchel’s.
Watch the video and leave your message for the Gomez-Pierrard Girls. We’ll make sure they receive it!
Shamefully, the Gomez-Pierrard story is not unique. Each year around 100,000 mothers and fathers of citizen children are deported. We continue enforcing a policy based on hate and fear. We can not continue jeopardizing the future of American children. It is time to protect families and deport hate!
Watch the video and leave a message today!
Together we can make an impact!Yours, Axel Caballero and the Cuéntame team

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Demand Fair and Inclusive Amendments to Immigration Bill

05/13/2013 Nativegrl77

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The current immigration reform bill marks a new phase in the fight for immigrant rights in the United States. However, with some minimal gains there are some major losses with this bill. A coalition initiated by black immigrant rights groups, civil rights organizations and faith groups have decided to coordinate a day of action to demand fair, just and inclusive immigration reform that addresses the needs of a diverse group of immigrant groups including Blacks, Asians and Eastern Europeans. In the coming weeks, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be making changes to the proposed bill. Tomorrow, these immigrant groups are standing together to ensure that their needs and concerns are addressed in the bill.

Tomorrow, The Black Institute joins black immigrant rights groups, civil organizations and faith groups across the country in a National Day of Action to demand fair and inclusive immigration reform bill that includes the needs of all immigrant groups.

The Black Institute http://www.theblackinstitute.org/

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Don’t Just Take Our Word For It

05/07/2013 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room

Conservatives Trash Anti-Immigration Reform Report

In 2007, the Heritage Foundation released an influential — though widely debunked — report claiming that immigration reform would cost the U.S. $2.6 TRILLION. While no one factor alone is responsible for the death of reform that year, the Heritage paper certainly helped kill it.

Well, “here we go again,” as Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) tweeted earlier today. Today, Heritage released an updated report with an even more fantastical claim: immigration reform with a path to earned citizenship (which the report and its authors falsely and repeatedly refer to as “amnesty”) will now cost $6.3 TRILLION over the next 50 years.

This time, however, something is different. It’s conservatives who are lining up to trash the Heritage report. In just the few hours the report has been out, influential conservatives have lined up to discredit Heritage’s way-too-bad-to-be-true claims:

The Cato Institute
Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform
The American Enterprise Institute
Doug Holtz-Eakin, prominent conservative economist and president of the American Action Forum
Haley Barbour, former Republican Nation Committee chairman and Mississippi governor, and current co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s immigration reform task force
Sen. Jeff Flake
Sen. John McCain
Sen. Marco Rubio
Rep. Paul Ryan

As conservatives also pointed out, Heritage’s current view is even at odds with its own past statements on immigration:

The new report contradicts the think tank’s 2006 position on immigration. Heritage then wrote,“the argument that immigrants harm the American economy should be dismissed out of hand” and urged for a comprehensive bill. “A lopsided, ideological approach that focuses exclusively on border security while ignoring migrant workers (or vice versa) is bound to fail.”

Earlier this year when ultra-conservative former Sen. Jim DeMint was appointed to head Heritage, some worried aloud that this would undermine the organization’s credibility:

The DeMint choice signals a shift toward more conservative activism from one of America’s largest think tanks and is sure to please conservative donors. But it’s not likely to provide donors the political results they want. Instead, it is likely to reduce the relevance of both DeMint and Heritage.

Indeed, the organized opposition to the Gang of 8 immigration bill appears to consist largely of the Heritage Foundation, racist hate groups like FAIR, and right-wing talk radio hosts. While these groups may continue to be influential with some segments of the Republican base, it’s clear that they are increasingly outside of the mainstream of both American society and even the GOP itself. In fact, a poll out just last week found that 83 percent of all Americans and 84 percent of Republicans favor a path to earned citizenship so long as immigrants pay fines, back taxes, and meet other requirements — in other words, exactly what is in the Gang of 8 bill.