DREAMers respond to Oregon Congressman Greg Walden

Broken Promises, Broken Dreams 
 By DREAMers’ Sara Ramirez and Fernando Dorantes

“We arrived in Washington D.C. on Tuesday around 1 A.M. on a nonstop flight from Oregon --exhausted but equally excited!!! To facilitate our trip, we made and sold over 600 hundred delicious tamales the weekend before we left. We wanted to work and fund our own trip and prove to ourselves that we deserve to be here. After only sleeping a couple of hours, we were up and ready to begin our training with the “Keep Families Together” Summit, and hopefully meet with our Oregon Representative, Greg Walden.

Before coming to D.C., we attempted to make numerous appointments online, but received no response. However, to our surprise at 10 A.M., we actually received a call from his office asking if we wanted to meet with one of his aids at 3:30 P.M. So in a heartbeat, we said “YES!”. We showed up early and to our surprise Congressman Walden himself was there to meet with us.

In the meeting, we shared our personal stories about our families with a straight and honest attitude. His response seemed genuine but vague; giving us hope that an immigration reform was in sight. We left accomplished and proud, only to be deceived by his vote the next day in favor of the “Enforce Act” (HR 4138) which would repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and put myself and other DREAMers at risk for deportation.

Congressman Walden's vote has proven once again that he is unwilling to work with us on immigration reform. He knows we are DREAMers with families that have been broken by immigration; yet he still has the tenacity to raise his hand for the “Enforce Act”. As we reflect on this political “stunt”, we are not afraid to continue the fight against this broken immigration system. Congressman Greg Walden has just added more fuel to our fire and we will make sure there are major repercussions in his district regarding his stance on immigration."

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Stop the GOP’s Plan to Target and Punish Immigrant Families

America's Voice published this article today urging action against the GOP's Plan to eliminate the Child Tax Credit that millions of working families depend on.

Action Needed: Stop the GOP’s Plan to Target and Punish Immigrant Families

By Mahwish Khan
America's Voice

This week, The New York Times blasted the latest GOP scheme to punish immigrant families:

House Republicans have hit upon a noxious scheme to help pay for an extension of the payroll tax cut: a tax increase on millions of poor working families. A bill passed by the House and now in conference seeks to deny cash refunds under the child tax credit to those who file tax returns using “individual taxpayer identification numbers” issued by the Internal Revenue Service. Only those using Social Security numbers would be eligible.

The refundable portion of the child tax credit is a life-saver for the working poor. Families that would be cut off by this policy change make an average of $21,000 per year, according to the Treasury Department. They would lose an average of $1,800. About 80 percent of those families are Hispanic. The taxpayer identification numbers are used frequently, though not exclusively, by unauthorized immigrants to pay the taxes because they are not eligible for Social Security numbers. The I.R.S. accepts their tax payments and allows families to claim the child tax credit regardless of immigration status. This policy is an effective antipoverty tool that protects children, most of whom are American-born citizens.

The Republicans who have flatly rejected tax increases on the rich have settled instead on limiting this refund, which kept about 1.3 million children from falling into poverty in 2009.

America's Voice is joining with our allies to stop this from happening. We need your help. Here's the action alert from the National Immigrant Law Center:

Though 2012 has just begun, Congress is right now considering a tax change that will hurt children in mixed status families. Legislators have proposed funding a payroll tax break extension by denying critical tax credits for children in the lowest income immigrant families – even as millionaires are protected.

Under the House of Representatives’ proposal, a taxpayer or spouse must have a Social Security Number to be eligible for the Child Tax Credit – a tax credit that is designed to keep working families from falling into poverty. This means that millions of working immigrant families who file using the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number will effectively receive tax increases. It is expected that these families will lose on average $1,800 of much-needed tax credits, forcing immigrant parents to cut back on essential items for their children.

We need you to help us fight this change! On Wednesday and Thursday, NILC and other organizations are organizing a national call-in day to protect working immigrant families. Please call (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected with House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and members of the tax package conference, and your representative to tell them that you OPPOSE funding the payroll tax credit on the backs of working families. (emphasis added)

Together, we must tell our legislators to live up to their pledge of fairness and equality and reject any changes to eligibility for the Child Tax Credit.

Please call (202) 224-3121. It really matters.

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The future of community radio stations

Woodburn, Ore-- On December 18th, Congress passed the Local Community Radio Act which expands opportunities for local community radio to people in urban areas of the U.S. who have previously been excluded. Low Power FM – or LPFM -- stations are community-based, nonprofit radio stations that broadcast at the local level.

The bill repeals earlier legislation that big broadcasters supported. The Radio Broadcast Preservation Act of 2000 limited LPFM radio to primarily rural areas. The broadcast lobby groups claimed that the new small stations could create interference with their own stations; in 2003, a congressionally mandated study disproved this claim.

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President Obama signs historic Health Care Reform Bill

Washington D.C.--Today, President Obama signed historic Health Care Reform legislation into Law. HR 3590 titled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by the U.S. House on Sunday with a vote of 219 for and 212 against.

During the signing today, President Obama said, “Everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health...The bill I am signing will set in motion reforms that generations of Americans have fought for and marched for and hungered to see".

H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 also passed the U.S. House on Sunday and will now go over to the Senate for a final vote.

More information about H.R. 3590 can by found by linking here.

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FED Chairman Urges Congress to Reform Immigration System

Last Week, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke gave testimony to the Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He listed immigration reform as one of the issues Congress should take up to improve the nation's lagging economy.

He said:

"I think frankly, this is a topic that I can never get much traction on — I think our immigration policy which restricts severely the number of highly-trained skilled immigrants is a problem because bringing those kind of folks in helps our high-tech industries develop more competitively — become more competitive."

Read the full story here.

H/T to Think Progress

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U.S. House Passes Historic Bipartisan Health Care Reform Bill

Late last night after a long day of debate, the U.S. House passed an historic bipartisan health care reform bill. At 11:15pm EST, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) by a vote of 220, which included 219 Democrats and 1 Republican.

According to a press release from Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the bill includes “a public option, adds coverage for 37 million people, insures 96% of Americans, and provides advance care planning - a provision Blumenauer authored - all while reducing the deficit.”

For almost 100 years and despite countless attempts, neither chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform.

The passage of the bill brought Americans one step closer to secure, affordable care while extending health care to 36 million more Americans including 323,000 more Oregonians.

It is now up to the Senate to take up their version of healthcare reform legislation. According to ABC News, two bills have already moved through committee and now must be merge into a single, unified bill. Democratic Leaders pledge they will have a bill on the President’s desk before the end of the year.

Correction: Original article reported U.S. Congress passed Historic Bipartisan Health Care Reform bill. For clarity, it was the U.S. House of Representatives that passed the Historic Bipartisan Health Care Reform Bill.

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Mr. President, Your speech was great, but we need action on Immigration Reform Now

For Immediate Release
June 19, 2009

Contact:
Francisco Lopez, Executive Director: (503) 269-5694
Erik Sorensen, Communications Director: (503) 488-0263


Mr. President, Your speech was great, but we need action on Immigration Reform Now
During a speech today at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, President Obama once again highlighted his desire to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The speech was wonderful and drew a loud applause from all those in earshot.

We especially like the part where the President said, “Together, we must build a future where the promise of America is kept for a new generation…and keeping this promise means upholding America's tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. Those things aren't contradictory; they're complementary. That's why I'm committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform as President of the United States.”

The only problem is, the White House has postponed a meeting twice that it set with key congressional leaders to discuss plans for passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. This begs the question about passing immigration reform, “If not now, Mr. President, when?”

At the New York Times today, the editorial board called on President Obama to “break the stalemate on immigration soon” because he owes it to the “undocumented immigrants whose lives have been made miserable under a cruel, ill-conceived enforcement crusade that was concocted in the last administration and survives into this one.” So we ask, “Mr. President, if not now, when?”

Yesterday, Cardinal Francis George on behalf of the National Conference of Bishops called Immigration Reform a “pressing humanitarian issue” saying that, “As a moral matter, we must resolve the legal status of those who are here without proper documentation so that they can fully contribute their talents to our nation*s economic, social and spiritual well being.”

So we ask again, “Mr. President, if not now, when?”

Today, CAUSA issued a statement on the recent termination of about 250 immigrant employees from Meduri Farms in what is being coined a “desktop raid”. The sad situation for these workers and their families is one that is due to the failed immigration policy of the United States and can only be rectified through a fair and just immigration reform.

So yet again, we ask, “Mr. President, if not now, when?”

And because we understand that President Obama cannot do this alone, we pose the same question to Congress, “if not now, when?”

While both the President and members of Congress continue to talk about the importance of passing Comprehensive Immigration Reform, people are suffering daily under our broken immigration system. We don’t need more speeches; we need serious and concerted action.

So Mr. President, while we applaud you for the great speech you gave at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast this morning, we need you and members of Congress to work together to come up with a plan to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year. This important humanitarian issue cannot wait any longer.

Resources:

Immigration: It's Time (New York Times, Editorial June 19, 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/opinion/19fri2.html?_r=5

Cardinal George, Bishops Ask President Obama, Congress To Enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform Before End Of 2009 (USCCB, June 19, 2009)
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2009/09-142.shtml

Desktop Raids, a New Policy of Obama Administration comes to Oregon (CAUSA News, June 19, 2009)
http://causaoregon.blogspot.com/2009/06/desktop-raids-new-policy-of-obama.html

Remarks by the President at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-the-Esperanza-National-Hispanic-Prayer-Breakfast/

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President Obama Responds to Question About Immigration Reform

Yesterday during President Obama’s 100 Day Press Conference, reporter Lori Montenegro with Telemundo Hispanic National News Network asked about Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Here is the transcript from that exchange:

REPORTER LORI MONTENEGRO: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, when you met with the Hispanic Caucus a few weeks ago, reports came out that the White House was planning to have a forum to talk about immigration and bring it to the forefront.

Going forward, my question is, what is your strategy to try to have immigration reform? And are you still on the same timetable to have it accomplished in the first year of your presidency?

And, also, I'd like to know if you're going to reach out to Senator John McCain , who is Republican and in the past has favored immigration reform?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, we reach out to -- to Senator McCain on a whole host of issues. He has been a leader on immigration reform. I think he has had the right position on immigration reform. And I would love to partner with him and others on what is going to be a critical issue. We've also worked with Senator McCain on what I think is a terrific piece of legislation that he and Carl Levin have put together around procurement reform. We want that moved, and we're going to be working hard with them to get that accomplished.

What I told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is exactly what I said the very next day in a town hall meeting and what I will continue to say publicly, and that is we want to move this process.

We can't continue with a broken immigration system. It's not good for anybody. It's not good for American workers. It's dangerous for Mexican would-be workers who are trying to cross a dangerous border.

It is putting a strain on border communities, who oftentimes have to deal with a host of undocumented workers. And it keeps those undocumented workers in the shadows, which means they can be exploited at the same time as they're depressing U.S. wages.

So, what I hope to happen is that we're able to convene a working group, working with key legislators like Luis Gutierrez and Nydia Velazquez and others to start looking at a framework of how this legislation might be shaped.

In the meantime, what we're trying to do is take some core -- some key administrative steps to move the process along to lay the groundwork for legislation. Because the American people need some confidence that if we actually put a package together, we can execute.

So Janet Napolitano , who has great knowledge of this because of having been a border governor, she's already in the process of reviewing and figuring out how can we strengthen our border security in a much more significant way than we're doing.

If the American people don't feel like you can secure the borders, then it's hard to strike a deal that would get people out of the shadows and on a pathway to citizenship who are already here, because the attitude of the average American is going to be, well, you're just going to have hundreds of thousands of more coming in each year.

On the other hand, showing that there is a more thoughtful approach than just raids of a handful of workers as opposed to, for example, taking seriously the violation of companies that sometimes are actively recruiting these workers to come in. That's again something we can start doing administratively.

So what we want to do is to show that we are competent and getting results around immigration, even on the structures that we already have in place, the laws that we already have in place, so that we're building confidence among the American people that we can actually follow through on whatever legislative approach emerges. OK?

I see the process moving this first year. And I'm going to be moving it as quickly as I can. I've been accused of doing too much. We are moving full steam ahead on all fronts.

Ultimately, I don't have control of the legislative calendar, and so we're going to work with legislative leaders to see what we can do.

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First Vietnamese-American Elected to Congress

Anh “Joseph” Cao has become the first Vietnamese American to be elected to Congress. In whats being called an "upset victory", Cao, an eastern New Orleans immigration attorney, defeated nine term Rep. William Jefferson. Cao, (pronounced "Gow") defeated incumbent Jefferson 50% to 47%.

Congressman-elect Cao, 41, immigrated to the United States from war ravaged Vietnam when he was 8 years old, leaving his family behind. Yesterday and 33 years later, he makes history by becoming the first Vietnamese immigrant to be elected to Congress.

For more on the story, visit USA Today’s coverage by linking here

For more on Congressman-elect Cao, visit his campaign website at www.josephcaoforcongress.com

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform Requires Next President's Action

According to a recent news story, that is what the former head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services believes. In an interview with the Associated Press, Emilio T. Gonzalez said the next President will need to play an active roll in order for a Comprehensive Immigration Bill to pass. He also said that such a bill would likely fail if left up to Congress

Gonzalez had this to say:

"Immigration is very difficult, and it's very complex. You've got to get dirty, and you're going to get beat up. I can't imagine somebody burning political capital in a honeymoon period tackling immigration."

"I think this will get done when it comes from on high — that is to say when a president really puts it on the line and basically crafts the bill and says: 'Congress, this is what I want.'"

When it came to the impractical solution of deporting undocumented migrants as promoted by anti-immigrant extremists, Gonzalez said that it was "logistically impossible".

The full AP article can be read by linking here

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Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Lobbies for Immigration Reform

According to JTA, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society "met with Bush administration officials in the U.S. Homeland Security and State Departments, as well as with lawmakers, to argue for a renewed effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform." During their D.C. visit, HAIS also advocated for extensions to the religious worker visa program, which is set to expire in September.

HAIS was founded in New York City by a group of Jewish immigrants who found sanctuary in the United States after fleeing persecution in Europe. The organization offered food, shelter and other aid to countless new arrivals. Members of the organization have a united goal of rescuing those in peril, reuniting families in freedom, and enabling newcomers to build new lives with hope and prosperity.

Read the full article from JTA here

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ALERT: Tell Congress to Oppose the SAVE Act

Call Your Representatives TODAY and demand that they reject the SAVE Act!

Pressure is mounting in the Democratic-led House of Representatives to act on the SAVE Act (HR 4088), an enforcement and deportation-only bill introduced and sponsored by more than 140 Democratic and Republican opponents of humane immigration reform.

Don’t let hate speech and cynical election year politics hijack opportunities for real reform. America needs rational, workable and humane immigration laws. Make sure your voice gets heard!

Call the Capitol Switchboard today at 202-225-3121 to reach your Representative.

If you are an Oregon Resident use the contact information below for your Representative:

Representative Earl Blumenauer
email: earl.blumenauer@mail.house.gov
Oregon: (503) 231-2300
D.C.: (202) 225-4811
FAX: (503) 230-5413

Representative Peter DeFazio
email: peter.defazio@mail.house.gov
Oregon: (800) 944-9603
D.C.: (202) 225-6416
FAX:

Representative Darlene Hooley
email: darlene.hooley@mail.house.gov
Oregon: (503) 588-9100
D.C.: (202) 225-5711
FAX: (202) 225-5699

Representative Greg Walden
email: greg.walden@mail.house.gov
Oregon: (800) 533-3303
D.C.: (202) 225-6730
FAX: (202) 225-5774

Representative David Wu
email: david.wu@mail.house.gov
Oregon: (800) 422-4003
D.C. (202) 225-0855
FAX: 503-326-5066

What would the SAVE Act do?

• It would require more than six million employers to verify the work status of more than 130 million workers within four years, regardless of their status, using a federal database already known to have an unacceptably high error rate.
• It would make it easier for the government to put religious and humanitarian workers behind bars for so-called "alien smuggling."
• In a half-baked attempt to address our immigration crisis, the bill would throw more resources toward ineffective border and interior enforcement rather than offer a comprehensive solution.

We need leaders who will tackle the tough issues and solve a complicated problem intelligently, not offer false promises and empty rhetoric like the SAVE Act.

The SAVE Act amounts to a Democratic Sensenbrenner Bill. It represents a failure in leadership and a cynically motivated attack on immigrant families.

Who supports the SAVE Act?

The chief co-sponsors of the SAVE Act are Rep. Heath Shuler (D-North Carolina) and Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-California). Rep. Bilbray leads the House Immigration Reform Caucus and is a former lobbyist of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an anti-immigration organization recognized as a hate group by mainstream civil rights and research organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center.

For a list of co-sponsors on the SAVE Act, go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR04088:@@@P.

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Legal foreign guest workers caught in middle of immigration stalemate

Thousands could lose jobs unless Congress revises work permit law

BY PAMELA BROGAN
Gannett News Service

December 3, 2007

It took a while for foreign workers Monica Regalado, a nursing assistant from Honduras, and Clara Hermosillo, a housekeeper from Mexico, to get their permits to work in the United States.
Both work in environments that employers say are needed to meet industry demands, and which they claim many American workers won't take.

Both also are among hundreds of thousands of legal foreign workers, including engineers, teachers, hotel employees, landscapers, nurses, and nursery and farm workers, who are caught in the crossfire of a stalled immigration debate. >>read entire article

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RELEASE: Congress Returns from Recess to Renewed Calls for Immigration Reform

For Immediate Release
September 6, 2007

Contact:
Erik Sorensen, Communications, CAUSA 503-789-8213
Aeryca Steinbauer, Coordinator, CAUSA 503-984-6816

Congress Returns from Recess to Renewed Calls for Immigration Reform

Senate inaction intensifies need for real solutions; House to hold immigration hearing

Salem, OR – When the Congressional delegation from Oregon returns to Washington DC this month after the August Recess, they will return to renewed calls for real and workable immigration reform that will secure our borders, restore the rule of law and provide a practical solution for dealing with the country’s 12 million undocumented workers who are a vital part of the national economy.

“If our elected members of Congress think they’re going to breeze back into the nation’s Capitol, and not make themselves accountable to their constituents for the undue burden being placed on state and local governments, they’re in for an abrupt reality check.,” said Aeryca Steinbauer, Coordinator with CAUSA.

Since the death of the immigration bill in the Senate, we’ve already seen a preview of the problems that come with the failure of the federal government to fix our immigration system. Local governments all over the country are attempting to implement their own immigration ordinances, leading to chaos in the system and divisive battles within their respective communities. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration has turned to enforcement-only mechanisms which led to a lawsuit filed by the AFL-CIO and an order by U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney to halt the program. Stunningly, an already badly broken immigration system is getting worse thanks to the failure of Congress to get its act together and implement true immigration reform.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee is holding a hearing this Thursday on STRIVE Act, the House bill on immigration reform co-authored by Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). “The country is clamoring for real and workable immigration reform that will secure our borders, restore the rule of law and provide a practical solution for dealing with the country’s 12 million undocumented workers who are a vital part of the national economy,” said Steinbauer. “We need constructive debate on this issue – our elected officials should be held accountable to create, and not destroy, the opportunity for dialogue and reform.”

The renewed calls for immigration reform stem from growing concerns over the staggering number of anti-immigrant ordinances that have been proposed across the country, the increase in raids by I.C.E, and the Bush Administration’s new plan to issue “no match” letters to companies whose employees' names and Social Security numbers do not match those on record at the Social Security Administration.

“We’re all in agreement that the system is broken and reform is needed. That’s not the issue. The concern is that the enforcement-only policies are only half the answer, and the public is being sold a bill of goods that won’t really get them what they want—true immigration reform. Without more realistic immigration laws, the current path we are on will lead to chaos in the system,” said Steinbauer. “The public does not need that. Why are the Bush Administration and Congress forcing this situation rather than solving the problem? Is that really what the public wants?”

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RELEASE: Organizations From Across Oregon Call on Congress for Swift Passage of AgJOBS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2007

Contact:
Ramon Ramirez, President, PCUN (503) 989-0073
Erik Sorensen, Communications, CAUSA (503) 789-8213
John Aguirre, Oregon Association of Nurseries (503) 682-5089
Andrea Cano, Oregon Farm Worker Ministry (503) 990 0611
Felisa Hagins, SEIU Local 49 (503) 789-2054
Alisha Rosas, United Farm Workers (909) 969-7284

Organizations From Across Oregon Call on Congress for Swift Passage of AgJOBS

Salem Oregon -- Today, labor, faith and agricultural industry organizations from across Oregon joined together to call on Congress for swift passage of one bi-partisan solution, AgJOBS, a step which the majority of Americans agree, is in the right direction.

Since the failure of the bi-partisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill (S.1348) in June, Congress has been at a standstill on anything related to immigration reform. And, with new regulations put forth by the Bush Administration last month requiring employers to match social security numbers with employees, the Congress is no closer to solving our broken immigration system than it was two months ago.

The Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Security (AgJobs) Act (S.237/ H.R.371), is a measure that has strong bipartisan support. AgJobs is a needed to create a safe, legal, and orderly process for current undocumented workers still in the shadows and future workers to enter the United States legally. It reflects both an historic agreement between the representatives of farm workers and the agricultural industry, and the pressing need, for humanitarian, economic, and security reasons, to reform our immigration laws in this sector of our economy. This measure would create an earned adjustment program for undocumented farm workers who would be eligible to apply for temporary immigration status based on their past work experience, and could become permanent residents upon satisfying prospective work requirements. The legislation would also streamline the existing H-2A foreign agricultural worker program while preserving and enhancing key labor protections.

“PCUN remains firmly committed providing a strong, legal worker program for the people who put food on our tables every day,” said Ramon Ramirez, President of Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United. “We need congress to pass AgJOBS now as it represents a balanced solution for American agriculture, a critical element of a comprehensive solution, and one that can be enacted now with broad bipartisan support”.

“The worker shortage crisis has been perpetuated by the glaring lack of action by Congress and therefore creates and untenable assault on agriculture,” said John Aguirre, Executive Director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries. “The new enforcement-only immigration policy will produce enormous disruption to the nursery industry. We are committed to push for AgJOBS this fall; it is our top priority”.

“The labor of women and men in the fields, orchards, dairies, cattle and chicken ranches, nurseries, and canneries contributes significantly to the economy of this state. Our popular restaurants, supermarkets, fast food chains, bakeries, and breweries also profit and benefit from Oregon's agricultural bounty,” said Andrea Cano, Executive Director of Oregon Farm Worker Ministries. “AgJOBS secures a stable work force for the growers.”

“Immigrants are vital to our economy, and integral to our communities. This nation will be stronger and more secure when we reward immigrants for their contributions and invite them to come out of the shadows,” said Felisa Hagins, Political Director of SEIU Local 49. “AgJOBS recognizes hard-working, tax-paying immigrants deserve a shot at the American Dream -- we urge our leaders to come together and get it done.”

“The agriculture industry in Oregon is a major contributor to the economy. AgJOBS is bipartisan legislation that also has the support of growers and farm workers,” said Diana Tellefson of United Farm Workers. “Presently, farm workers across the nation are meeting with Congressmembers to ask that they move forward the only real solution to the country's broken immigration system--AgJOBS”.

It is time for Congress to take responsibility and pass this long-overdue measure. The status quo and lack of action in solving our nation’s broken immigration system is no longer acceptable. AgJobs is a needed step on the road to immigration reform. We urge Congress to do it’s duty and swiftly take up and pass this important measure.


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