Effort for a Unified Front for a real immigration reform Continue! Please Forward!
Alex Gillis
Hola a tod@s!
Over the weekend, several people answered the call that I issued to organize a coordinated effort to address the latest development around the Luis Gutierrez Bill and the basis for immigration reform debate in 2010.
This is what I gathered from these conversations:
Extensive and National Interest
Although still in the very initial stages,compañer@s de San Francisco, Mineapolis, Michigan, Dallas, Chicago and Madison have expressed interest and support to re issue a broad call to basically prepare a collective strategy to fight for REAL and PROGRESSIVE immigration reform that actually addresses the needs of immigrant workers and their families.
Sense of urgency
It is clear for many that between tomorrow and the end of the week we will know enough to understand the immigration reform debate framework for this winter/spring.
The importance of this debate is not only about whether or not Luis Gutierrez' bill will include all the demands that we need for a better a reform, it is about whether the immigrant community will have an input in the final bill or not.
What we know already is alarming:
We know already that the bill will be introduced without any previous debate in the community.
We know that a heavy focus on enforcement and
some form of guest worker program is included
And finally we know that other Democratic representatives are writing another bill which is even more conservative.
As we saw in the Healthcare debate, we might find a "moderate versus liberal" debate to finally impose a “compromise” bill that will included among others items a form of guest worker program and heavy handed enforcement, making things even worse than they are now.
It is of a fundamental necessity to create independent
channels to hold Luis Gutierrez and other members of Congress accountable for what the
community demands. This channel is not present in any of the national efforts to
support Luis Gutierrez Bill, and therefore it is our duty to work for a
national front to stop any concessions on our basic demands that would make the current situation even worse.
Next Steps
We want to issue another call for this week to keep
moving this effort forward. We propose another national call:
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Start Time: 3:00 PM Central Std Time
Dial-in Number: 1-219-509-8111
Code: 393635
Proposed agenda:
1. Introductions (5 min)
2. Discussion of the Gutierrez Bill (30 min)
3. Discussion of possible name for the national effort (Tentative: Frente Unido Obrero Inmigrante) (10 min)
4. Next steps/Actions (30min)
a. Principles for the Immigration Reform (tentative: adopt the 10 points of unity of NAIR)
b. Create committees
i. Press Release/ WEB
ii. National Conference Organizing Committee
iii. Outreach
5. Next National Call (5 min)
Please join the call and spread the word
Please forward this call for unity to all the lists, activists, organizers, leaders and the community as whole. There is a wealth of energy and willingness to create a effective front to stop the attempts of the Democratic Party for a partial "reform" that will mostly will serve the interest of the corporations while leaving our communities in a worse position than ever. We cannot let this happen!
- Frente Unido Obrero Inmigrante -
Alex Gillis
Immigrant Workers Union- Madison
Rosendo DelgadoLatinos Unidos de Michigan
John Peterson
Workers International League and member of MIRAC - Minesota
Gabriel Cabrera
The above are the initial endorsers of this call. We invite you to add your name and organization and help us build a broad front to continue to defend immigrant workers and the principles the movement established in the "Immigrant Spring" of 2006!
Julio Guerrero
*Please Post
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