|
Family immigration is under attack. The comprehensive immigration bill in the Senate, S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, (full text here)
introduced by the Senate Gang of 8-Senators Bennett (D-Colo.), Durbin
(D-Ill.), Menendez (D-N.J.), Schumer (D-N.Y.), Flake (R-Ariz.), Graham
(R-S.C.), McCain (R-Ariz.), and Rubio (R-Fla.)-proposes to weaken our
family immigration system. This proposal, as it is currently written,
will fracture our families and weaken our communities. We know that
strong families provide support for new immigrants, resulting in a
stronger middle class and a prosperous nation. Whether it's grandparents
caring for their grandchildren while parents work, or having a brother
or sister help with a business, our families are critical to our
success.
The
base bill does address key issues with our family immigration system,
such as eliminating the family backlog and making it easier for green
card holders to reunite with their spouses and children. However, the
bill has its share of bad parts, including provisions that eliminate the
visa category for brothers and sisters and place an age cap on the
adult married children visa category. You can read more about the family
provisions here.
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee starts the markup process to improve the bill. Senator
Hirono, the only immigrant in the U.S. Senate and on the committee
knows first-hand the importance of family unity. She has submitted
amendments to preserve and improve family reunification.
Congress needs to hear from you.
Call your Senators, and urge them to support Senator Hirono's family
amendments! Here are three things you can do this week to support our
families:
1) Call the Senate Judiciary Committee members'offices, and urge them to support the amendments which do the following:
- Strengthens families by restoring the siblings and adult married children visa category (Sen. Hirono amendment 6).
- Increases the age cap on adult married children visas (Sen. Hirono amendment 8).
- Allows
immigrants, who have not yet submitted petitions, to sponsor no more
than 2 family members in order to reunite in the U.S. (Sen. Hirono
amendment 5).
- Ensures all immigrants who are here in the U.S. on a visitor's visa are treated equally and fairly. (Sen. Hirono amendment 9).
- Humanely
addresses the extreme hardships that immigrants can experience from
permanent separation from their loved ones. (Sen. Hirono amendment 10).
- Exempts
children of certain Filipino World War II veterans from the numerical
limitations on immigrant visas (Sen. Hirono amendment 1).
2) Join us for a webinar and Q&A at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, on Monday, May 13, 2013, to learn more about the bill and how to get involved. RSVP here.
3) Share your story with AAJC--
telling your story will mean that family reunification has a stronger
voice in Congress. We all have stories to share about our families and
about how immigration reform would impact the lives of the people we
know.
After you call the Senators, RSVP here for the webinar, and learn more about how to keep our families together.
If you cannot join us for the webinar, sign up for regular updates and action alerts, and help us keep families together.
This fight is our fight. We must come together to protect families.
Thank you for your support,
Mee Moua
President and Executive Director
Asian American Justice Center
# # # | 
