Thousands gather for town hall meeting on immigration
By WDBO Staff @ March 28, 2009 4:42 PM
By Nicole Blake
Janell Vasquez may not see her husband, Sebastian, for the next nine years, but in the mean time, she is fighting to bring him home from Mexico.
Over the past year, she has compiled hundreds of documents concerning his legalization process, including messages she's sent to state senators, reference letters and papers from the National Visa Center.
Her nightmare began in January 2008 when the couple received a letter instructing them to go to the US Embassy in Mexico to obtain her husband's passport, visa and additional documentation.
Sebastian Vasquez hasn't been home since.
"My 2-year-old son needs him," said the Orlando woman.
Families that have been torn apart by the nation's immigration system shared their stories with thousands who gathered at an Orlando church on Saturday for one of many town hall meetings across the country.
More than 1,500 people from around the state joined US congressmen and church leaders as part of a 20-city tour to document the urgency for immigration reform. US Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill addressed the crowd of mostly hispanic families and encouraged them to let their voices be heard.
"All he [President Barack Obama] has to do is call his secretary of Homeland Security and say, for humanitarian purpose, until the Congress of the United States acts" those who were deported can "go home to their husbands and their wives," Gutierrez said. "It's as simple as that."
Robert Cote from Tavares is fighting a legal battle over whether his wife will stay in the US or be deported. She was detained by police in February while serving as an interpreter during a domestic abuse call.
"With a lot of immigrants, they might be able to intimidate them and hold them down," Cote said. They're not going to hold me down. She is married to someone that's not going to be quiet."
Future town hall meetings are scheduled in Detroit, Philadelphia and San Jose, Calif.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Obama, Hispanic Dems to huddle on immigration
By Jared Allen
Posted: 03/17/09 03:15 PM [ET]
Hispanic Democrats will have their first West Wing meeting with President Obama on Wednesday morning to discuss immigration reform, according to Democratic sources.
The meeting is the first face-to-face sit-down between Obama and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) since the president was sworn in. Some in the CHC have recently expressed frustration that Obama has not talked more about immigration in his first two months in office.
Immigration reform is front-and-center on the group’s agenda.
CHC is eager to hear the president’s ideas and proposals for tackling immigration reform, not only regarding a comprehensive reform bill that could provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers but also as it relates to rolling back Bush administration policies of raiding workplaces and detaining and deporting thousands of illegal workers.
CHC members came away from a recent meeting in the Capitol with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano — a day after her Senate confirmation hearing — very encouraged that the workplace-raids policy would be fully reviewed and possibly altered.
Yet, CHC has expressed frustration that Obama has not yet gotten the message on how damaging the raids are to Hispanic communities across the country.
CHC has made the raids and their human cost the new focus of its immigration reform push, although a comprehensive reform bill remains very much a priority for the group, and one that it is encouraging Obama to push.
Hispanic Democrats are continuing their nationwide tour of cities where raids have been conducted to drum up public support for curtailing the practice. During an event in San Francisco earlier this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the raids “un-American" and spoke out on the need for comprehensive immigration reform
Posted: 03/17/09 03:15 PM [ET]
Hispanic Democrats will have their first West Wing meeting with President Obama on Wednesday morning to discuss immigration reform, according to Democratic sources.
The meeting is the first face-to-face sit-down between Obama and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) since the president was sworn in. Some in the CHC have recently expressed frustration that Obama has not talked more about immigration in his first two months in office.
Immigration reform is front-and-center on the group’s agenda.
CHC is eager to hear the president’s ideas and proposals for tackling immigration reform, not only regarding a comprehensive reform bill that could provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers but also as it relates to rolling back Bush administration policies of raiding workplaces and detaining and deporting thousands of illegal workers.
CHC members came away from a recent meeting in the Capitol with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano — a day after her Senate confirmation hearing — very encouraged that the workplace-raids policy would be fully reviewed and possibly altered.
Yet, CHC has expressed frustration that Obama has not yet gotten the message on how damaging the raids are to Hispanic communities across the country.
CHC has made the raids and their human cost the new focus of its immigration reform push, although a comprehensive reform bill remains very much a priority for the group, and one that it is encouraging Obama to push.
Hispanic Democrats are continuing their nationwide tour of cities where raids have been conducted to drum up public support for curtailing the practice. During an event in San Francisco earlier this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the raids “un-American" and spoke out on the need for comprehensive immigration reform
Pelosi Tells Illegal Immigrants That Work Site Raids are Un-American
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/18/pelosi-tells-illegal-immigrants-work-site-raids-american/
Here is an article from News Daily of how Obama will have a reform this year on immigration.
Obama to address immigration reform in coming months
President Barack Obama will present plans for immigration reform this year, Hispanic lawmakers said Wednesday after strategic talks at the White House.
Obama "was clear and eloquent and determinate to let us know that we are all together in the route of comprehensive immigration reform," Democratic lawmaker Luis Gutierrez told reporters after the discussion between the president and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).
"We believe that we are moving forward this year, we are going to work with the president," added CHC leader Nydia Velazquez.
Obama will convene a public forum on the issue "probably in two months," according to New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez.
The White House said in a statement that the meeting was "robust and strategic" and that Obama will work with CHC members to address immigration reform "in both the short and long term."
Two legislative measures to reform immigration failed to gain traction in Congress in 2006 and 2007, as lawmakers grappled with the task of addressing the 12 million undocumented would-be immigrants in the United States.
In the meeting CHC members made "absolutely clear that this is the civil rights issue of our community and that we will all be judged on how we act on this issue," added Gutierrez.
President Barack Obama will present plans for immigration reform this year, Hispanic lawmakers said Wednesday after strategic talks at the White House.
Obama "was clear and eloquent and determinate to let us know that we are all together in the route of comprehensive immigration reform," Democratic lawmaker Luis Gutierrez told reporters after the discussion between the president and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).
"We believe that we are moving forward this year, we are going to work with the president," added CHC leader Nydia Velazquez.
Obama will convene a public forum on the issue "probably in two months," according to New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez.
The White House said in a statement that the meeting was "robust and strategic" and that Obama will work with CHC members to address immigration reform "in both the short and long term."
Two legislative measures to reform immigration failed to gain traction in Congress in 2006 and 2007, as lawmakers grappled with the task of addressing the 12 million undocumented would-be immigrants in the United States.
In the meeting CHC members made "absolutely clear that this is the civil rights issue of our community and that we will all be judged on how we act on this issue," added Gutierrez.
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