PRESS CONFERENCE = IMMIGRATION REFORM = 6 PM
We The Immigrants
A Broken System Can Not Be Fixed With a Broken Law
Press Conference to demand a better immigration reform proposal from the Senate
La Catrina Café, 1011 W. 18th Street, Pilsen
Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 6 pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/444911348938957/
Press contacts:
José Herrera (773) 632-9992
Jorge Mújica (773) 844-9910
On the second week of June, discussion in the Senate about a proposed immigration reform bill will be held in the US Senate, after its Judiciary Committee approved a draft.
However, this draft is a product of a political negotiation between two political parties interested on how many voted they will get in future elections, and it does little to fix the broken immigration system.
SB 744 pours billions of dollars into militarizing the border, into the private-run jail industry for undocumented immigrants. Furthermore, despite text regarding protection for workers’ rights, the bill does not assign a single cent to labor-law enforcement agencies or to hiring labor inspectors, while it calls for the hiring of many more thousands of Border Patrol officers.
Even worse, because of the harsh requirements for legalization, SB 744 more likely will leave out one of every three undocumented immigrants. Extrapolating on Census data, up to one-third of all undocumented immigrants will not be able to prove enough annual income to be eligible for legalization. Against the message some organization have spread considering this bill a “victory” no more than 7 of the 11 million undocumented immigrants will be able to regularize their status.
For all these and many more reasons, the Coalition for Immigrant Justice calls senators to address the real issues and improve the bill before voting in the plenary.
We demand:
- An immediate stop to deportations to seriously address the issue of legalization; it is absurd to deport today immigrants whom are supposed to be legalizing tomorrow
- An inclusive bill to allow legalization of all current undocumented immigrants
- A bill which really guarantees that international workers will not be forced into indentured servitude for over a decade, but puts them on equal grounds with other workers
The Coalition for Immigrant Justice will immediately begin activities and events to educate the immigrant community and oppose a restrictive bill created only for political gain and against the needs of our international workers.