LatinaLista — Though the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor has dominated the buzz in Washington, this week there’s another event that plans on sharing that spotlight.
It’s called the Reform Immigration for America Campaign Summit. It’s a week-long event that spans the country and includes grassroots meetings in cities and towns, along with, a three-day national summit where 700-800 advocates will be gathering in DC to meet and strategize how to proceed in promoting immigration reform.
What is unique about this event, and gives it the teeth that past advocacy efforts lacked, is the fact that for the first time a true collaborative effort is being made among labor, faith, civil rights, business and immigrant rights groups to come up with a common strategy to reach their goal.
Unfortunately, there’s only thing lacking that makes this summit a total success.
The agenda for this week’s Reform Immigration FOR America campaign couldn’t be anymore packed with events than what is planned already:
Monday (June 1) — 40 cities and towns across the country are launching their local initiatives of the new national Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign where community leaders will meet with one another to discuss how to push for immigration reform.
Wednesday (June 3) — A morning press conference at the National Press Club that kicks off the three-day summit.
Thursday (June 4) — A National Town Hall Meeting on Capitol Hill where “advocates will communicate the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to our immigration system to key members of Congress, including Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), and Immigration Subcommittee Chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) who are likely to among those meeting with President Obama during the upcoming White House meeting on immigration reform scheduled for June 8.”
The purpose of the summit is to reenergize and get people not only excited, but on the same page when it comes to creating an effective strategy to counteract the expected pushback from those deadset against granting undocumented immigrants any kind of amnesty or changing current enforcement procedures.
To that end, the summit is essential, but what would really make it an event that showed there was an honest effort in Congress to start a dialogue on this topic was if some Republican congressional representatives would take the initiative and appear at the National Town Hall Meeting alongside their Democratic colleagues.
Grant it, there exists the possibility of emotions running high, but until the two sides meet in a meaningful forum such as this, then this summit is only one-dimensional.
Congressional Republicans shouldn’t have to be made to defend their views in a forum that would obviously differ from their feelings, but they could hear for themselves the firsthand testimony that will be delivered at this Town Hall meeting as to how current immigration policy has impacted not just local communities, but individual families.
It will definitely take brave individuals to walk into this forum but chances are they would have nothing to worry about.
After all, the objective of this campaign is to give voice to the human suffering that has been experienced across the country and to penetrate the walls that surround those people who only see the number of undocumented immigrants apprehended as a statistic to be lauded.
When those walls are breached, only then will there be a greater understanding of why 800 people thought this event important enough to leave their homes, travel across the country and pledge solidarity to fight for 12 million strangers.
Comment(5)
Horace
“Congressional Republicans shouldn’t have to be made to defend their views in a forum that would obviously differ from their feelings, but they could hear for themselves the firsthand testimony that will be delivered at this Town Hall meeting as to how current immigration policy has impacted not just local communities, but individual families.”
Immigration policy has been the orderly and legal entry of millions of foreigner, including Latin Americans who represent a more than fair share of those permitted entry. The lie remains with the advocates who claim that we should have no right to govern our own borders. When reform becomes capitulation to foreigners, it is nothing more than appeasement and treachery to our nation as one of laws.
Reconvene to Mexico City where tens of thousands of Mexicans can complain about their suffering at the hands of their oppressive government, where 80 million citizens who can’t cross the border illegally dwell. And nothing will change our illegal immigration problems without reform by the
Mexicans themselves. The source of the illegal alien’s discomfort is in their homeland, not in ours, where the U.S. citizen is trying to retain the right to his sovereignty by defending against the invasion of millions of foreigners who make outrageous demands that no other country would ever conceive of tolerating.
The difference between us, Marisa, is that I’m loyal to this country, while you apparently stateless, holding allegience to Latin Americans regardless of their damage to our nation. Republicans are defending their citizen constituency, while Democrats are quick to surrender to foreigners who they were never elected to represent.
Traci
The only thing that stops so-called IR is the fact that the majority of citizens are hostile towards the idea that people can cross our borders illegally and then demand a pathway to citizenship. There’s no way a group of elitists will change this.
Texan123
Reform must mean enforcement of immigration laws. It has never been strictly enforced, so to do so would be the kind of “change” Americans want.
Rewarding illegal immigration with legal status is a slap in the face to all the legal immigrants who followed the rules. It is also a slap in the face to millions of American citizens who have been victims of ID theft and spent months trying to straighten out the mess.
MaryElizabeth
I am curious to see what the outcome of this summit will be. I have a meeting with my civil rights for immigrants group next week. Hopefully there will be some positive information available to be discussed.
Horace
“I have a meeting with my civil rights for immigrants group next week. Hopefully there will be some positive information available to be discussed.”
What kind of new civil right would you advocate for illegal aliens, ME? The right to stay here would be denying the citizen’s right to establish his own immigration policies and cede foreigners the right to run this country. Our border would be wide open to challenge. It’s a zero sum game where U.S. citizens lose control over their own nation. We would no longer be a country, but just geographical location having no standing in the world as a sovereign nation. Are you willing to advocate this? Anyway, there’s no way illegal aliens will ever be given such power. Illegal aliens will never be given the rights that citizens reserve to themselves.
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