Tag Archives: immigration

Leave a comment for family unity

Earlier this year, we announced a proposal from the administration to change the rules around family visa applications currently keeping too many families separated. The rule change would allow spouses and children of US citizens to file for visas while remaining in the US, instead of leaving the country for 3 or 10 years as they have to do now.

This rule change could prevent parents from missing a decade of their children’s lives, and spouses from facing years without the support of their partners. Now, we need your help to move this proposal forward.
Leave a public comment now to support the change in the rules that would help keep families together.

In order for this change to go into effect, we need major public support from activists like you, standing up for families separated by the 3 and 10-year bars. We will deliver your messages of support for the change to Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Taking a few minutes to write your comment today could make a difference for thousands of families.

The comment period closes soon — we need to submit our comments now to support family unity waivers and keep our families together. Add your public comment today.
With hope,
Mayron Payes Reform Immigration FOR America
PS: We also have model comments and helpful questions for you to write your comment — learn more and send your message.

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ICE agents beat 17-year-olds …Gabriela Garcia, Change.org

05/11/2012 Nativegrl77

Stop the deportation of Julio and Adolfo, cousins who were beaten at age 17 by immigration agents, before Sunday.

Sign Romy’s Petition

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Julio Diaz Sales and Adolfo Garcia Diaz were 17 years old when immigration agents busted down the door of their Miami-area home. Julio and Adolfo say they were handcuffed, thrown on the floor, and beaten in the face and chest.

Only it was all a mistake — Julio and Adolfo had not committed any crimes. Immigration agents later admitted they broke into the wrong house as part of a sting operation.

Despite all this, immigration officials are set to deport Julio and Adolfo out of the U.S. on Sunday. Their attorney, Romy Lerner, knows that Change.org members have helped stop dozens of other last-minute deportations, and she thinks the only chance the boys have is to rally public support.

Romy started a petition on Change.org asking ICE Director John Morton to intervene and let Julio and Adolfo stay in the U.S.

Click here to sign Romy’s petition before Julio and Adolfo are deported on Sunday.

Their injuries were so bad that the immigration center’s director immediately started an investigation into what happened. But Romy says immigration agents apparently showed little concern for the boys’ injuries.

“No agent was hurt,” wrote one immigration agent in an email obtained by Univision. “I’m not sure what happened with the bad guys, but who cares what happened to them anyways?”

The “bad guys” were Julio and Adolfo — two 17-year-old boys mistakenly caught up in a botched raid.

Julio and Adolfo came to the U.S. from Guatemala as children. While they entered the country without documentation, they’ve worked hard in America and don’t have any criminal record.

Despite ICE’s initial mistake in targeting the boys, their subsequent beatings, and their otherwise clean backgrounds, Julio and Adolfo have until only Sunday before they’re deported back to Guatemala.

Romy Lerner, the boys’ attorney, has represented many people facing deportation. When she sees what Julio and Adolfo have been through, she fears that the immigration system will continue to fail her clients. She’s hoping to rally support for the cousins in their final days before they’ll be forced to leave the U.S.

Click here to sign Romy’s petition to stop Julio and Adolfo’s deportation scheduled for Sunday.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Gabriela and the Change.org team

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VIDEO: Will The Supreme Court Side With Justice Over Racism?

04/26/2012 Nativegrl77

The United States Supreme Court is hearing arguments in Arizona v. United States, the Obama administration‘s challenge to Arizona’s anti-immigration law, SB1070. What they won’t be hearing is what and who has fueled this discriminatory legislation.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is one of the most dangerous groups in the country.
Along with like groups in the John Tanton network FAIR has written and pushed laws like SB1070.
Will justice triumph over racial profiling and discrimination fueled by supremacist and nativist fringe groups?

We need to stand together in this most pressing time.
Take a stand against FAIR! Sign the pledge and show that we will not tolerate justice being trampled by racism!

http://mycuentame.org/justiceoverracism

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Stand with the President in the fight for smart immigration policy … BarackObama.com

01/10/2012 Nativegrl77

President Obama and his administration just proposed a common-sense change to our country’s immigration system in order to keep American families together.

This isn’t just a historic step for the hundreds of thousands of families who would be affected by this policy—it’s also a defining moment for this campaign.

Let the President know you stand with him in the fight for a smart, fair immigration system.

Under current law, undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens must leave the country to complete the immigration process—meaning thousands of families are separated every year while trying to pursue a legal path to citizenship.

The President’s plan would cut bureaucratic wait times and relieve an unfair burden on U.S. citizens who are unfairly separated from their loved ones during the legal immigration process. This proposal would build on other common-sense immigration reforms the President has put in place to help keep hardworking American families, who have played by the rules, together.

That’s why we need to have the President’s back in this fight—and the fights to come—in this election. Say you’ll stand with him today.

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BREAKING: Administration takes step forward with family unity waiver

01/06/2012 Nativegrl77

New procedure change could keep more families together

Last month, we resolved to make 2012 the year for immigrant families — the year we show our united strength to defend our communities from the threats of the broken, unjust American immigration system.Today, the administration is proposing changes that would keep hundreds of thousands of families together.Imagine this scenario: your father leaves home to apply for his US visa — and finds himself barred from returning. Or your wife, finalizing her application to gain a visa, is stuck waiting months across the border, with no form of recourse.

Situations like these are reality for hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their families. It’s a catch-22 in the American immigration system: if you return to your country of origin to apply for a visa, you trigger a bar of 3 or even 10 years that prevents you from coming back to the US.

The administration is proposing family unity waivers that would allow spouses and children of US citizens to file for visas while remaining in the US.

Today’s announcement is welcome news. This reform could prevent parents from missing a decade of their children’s lives, and spouses from facing years without the support and care of their partners. There’s nothing abstract about potentially sparing hundreds of thousands of individuals from being separated from their families for years.

With hope,

Donna De La Cruz
Reform Immigration FOR America