Greetings!
Immigration reform is at a critical juncture in the U.S Congress. As you may be aware, the Senate recently has passed it’s immigration bill with an overwhelming bi-partisan majority. Now, the House leadership is expected to bring its own bill, H.R. 2131, for a vote on the House floor. This bill passed the House Judiciary Committee on 27th June this year.
But given the trend of immigration bills under consideration in the House of Representatives, it will be naive to believe that employment based green card backlogs will be automatically resolved. As shared in our previous newsletter, the House bill H.R.2131 will increase the existing backlog by ten fold and result in an impractical wait time of 300 years from the current 30 years.
We have to ensure that we are not forgotten, as we carry the burden of speaking up and sharing our stories. Either we can sit on the sidelines and watch a small handful of groups obfuscate our issues, or, we have the option to stand-up now and speak up to help craft a fair policy - the most American thing to do.
If you ask us, we say let’s step-up and join hands, meet lawmakers, speak up in town halls, come to DC for the advocacy event, donate air miles, help fund someone else's travel, donate towards the organization of the event, make phone calls and spread the message.
The IV core team cannot do this alone. We need your help urgently to focus on 3 action items. - Register for DC advocacy event on September 7 - 10. Make travel plans in advance and join your fellow IV members, to meet and advocate our fixes with more than 300 Members of Congress. You can be a part of making history and have the satisfaction of doing something for yourself and your family.
- As you may know, we have paid advocacy efforts ongoing in DC on a continuous basis and we receive professional counsel from lobbyists. In order to keep those critical efforts going they must be well-funded during this important period. We need your help to pitch in and contribute towards this cause. You have the opportunity to see the wonderful work being done for yourself by attending our advocacy event in DC on September 7-10.
- Look through these documents (by state or by date) to find a Congressional town-hall meeting near your home. We ask you to take 1-2 hours from your schedule and attend the town-hall to tell your Member of Congress that US economy needs more green cards and a bill like H.R.2131 will hurt US workers, immigrant workers and US economy.
Although we all love Democracy, nothing happens by itself. The onus of speaking up and participating in the political process always lies on the people seeking a change. Each one of us has the capacity to do his/her share. The question is not - can we make a difference; the real question is –
WILL WE STEP-UP TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Please do not assume or take it for granted that green card backlogs will be automatically solved in the final package of immigration reform.
Life is too short. You can either spend your time on the sidelines, or, you could join others in the good fight, which we all will remember for rest of our lives. Put your time, money and effort on the table. You will not be doing it for anyone else. This is about you and your families. We hope each one of you will make the right choice, so that you can look back at this moment, one day, with pride not regret.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C. on September 7th - 10th.
Thank You,
Immigration Voice |
