Immigration Reform

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Immigration Activists: 'It's Showdown Time' -- Join us in Washington on March 21

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    We are getting closer to the big event that will push Congress to finally support the passage of immigration reform!
    It is up to us. This is our call. 
    Join thousands from across the country at the March For America in Washington on March 21.
    There will be a lot of purple power in this rally and we need you in our nation's capital to show our collective strength and energy.
    Details on bus transportation from Chicago will be available soon.

Share your story: Tell us why you are coming (seiu.org)
VIDEO: A grassroots push for reform (progressillinois.com)

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CENSUS 2010:
EVERYONE COUNTS!!!

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     In just a few weeks, 2010 Census forms will be mailed to every household in the United States.
     By law, the census is a count of every person residing in the U.S.
     The count must include people of all ages, races, and ethnic groups, citizens and non-citizens - and YES, THAT INCLUDES IMMIGRANTS.
    The census is crucial to all of us. IT SHAPES THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND DEFINES OUR VOICE IN CONGRESS.

     No matter what you may hear, it is a fact that the information collected by the Census Bureau is COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL.
      What is the census? Why is it important? Who gets counted?
Click here for the answers and much more

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The changing politics of immigration reform

By Mike Fishman
President, 32BJ SEIU
February 11, 2010

     As candidates look to woo the Latino vote that will be decisive in the coming midterm elections, they should make no mistake that immigration reform is still a top priority for Latino voters. 
     Eighty-seven percent of Hispanic voters say they would vote against candidates in favor of forcing undocumented immigrants to leave the country.

Read the complete article at huffingtonpost.com

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Save the date! March 21 in Washington:
We're heading back to the streets for immigration reform

February 6, 2010 

    As 2010 slips into February, the urgency for action on comprehensive immigration reform is growing.
     Now's the time to remind politicians that immigration reform is an essential ingredient for any real economic recovery that benefits workers, not just corporations.
     On March 21, tens of thousands of SEIU members, immigrant families, faith leaders, and other allies will descend on Washington, D.C. to make the case for why immigration reform needs to happen this year.   
     So start raising money, start organizing your people, and start preparing to have your voices heard loud and clear.
     Mark your calendars for March 21, 2010.  For more information please contact Joaquin.Guerra@seiu.org

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A look at the 2010 Census by the numbers

February 6, 2010

     Despite improvements in outreach to immigrant communities, a new report released this week shows that the Census Bureau's outreach has been falling short in at least a dozen major cities, including: Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Jose, Calif., and Seattle.
     The report, released Monday by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, also warns that many of these states are on the cusp of gaining or losing U.S. House seats and face a redrawing of legislative boundaries that may tilt the balance of political power. 
    

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SEIU: CAN'T FIX THE ECONOMY
WITHOUT FIXING THE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

BY ALI JOST, seiu.org
January 20, 2010

     President Obama's short mention of the need for immigration reform in his State of the Union Address has sparked article after article on the prospects for reform legislation moving in Congress this Spring. On Thursday, Senate Democratic leaders met to declare their continued commitment to taking on immigration this year, but still many reporters flocked to ask the question: is immigration reform dead?
     The answer, of course, is no. Immigration reform is still alive. In the coming weeks, we will learn much more about Congress' timeline for reform.
     In the meantime, it's our job to make the case for why this is the moment Congress must seize to get immigration reform done. SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina makes exactly that case in a piece in Huffington Post today:

Read more at seiu.org

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SEIU's Eliseo Medina on moving
immigration reform forward in 2010

from seiu.org
January 20, 2010

     Following the special election victory of Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts last night, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina issued the following statement on continued prospects for passing comprehensive immigration reform in 2010:
     "On behalf of its 2.2 million members, SEIU are fully committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform in this session of Congress. Yesterday, we lost one vote that will make our job more difficult--but not impossible.

Read more at seiu.org

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REPORT: COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM WOULD
INCREASE U.S. GDP BY $1.5 TRILLION OVER 10 YEARS

By ALI JOST, seiu.org
January 7, 2010

     Adding to a growing list of data, the Center for American Progress put out a report today confirming the huge gains we would see to the U.S. economy and to U.S. workers if comprehensive immigration reform passed in 2010. But there is one trick: the immigration bill has to be comprehensive.
     If the U.S. Congress were to pass a comprehensive bill this year, it would increase the U.S. GDP at least 0.84 percent annually--amounting to a more than $1.5 trillion boost in GDP over 10 years!
     On the other hand, a mass deportation would cost the U.S. a whopping to $2.6 trillion in lost GDP over 10 years! It would also reduce wages for higher skilled native workers and only provide a slight increase in wages for a small group of less-skilled native born workers. And the estimated $2.6 trillion loss in GDP doesn't include the more than $200 billion it is estimated to cost to deport 12 million undocumented immigrants.

Read more at seiu.org

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REPORT: IMMIGRANTS PULL MORE
THAN THEIR ECONOMIC WEIGHT

BY KATE THOMAS, seiu.org
November 30, 2009

     We've all heard the myth before -- that immigration is a drain on the economy and a threat to the wages of native-born workers.
     Yet, again and again research reports debunk the myth, showing that immigrant workers actually grow the U.S. economy and boost income for native workers.
     Adding to the research, today the Fiscal Policy Institute issued a new report demonstrating the vital force immigrants have played in boosting the American economy.

Read more at seiu.org

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Immigration Reform that Rebuilds
the American Dream for all Workers

KEY SEIU MESSAGE POINTS ON COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REOFRM

     After years of failed piecemeal solutions, we face an unprecedented opportunity to re-build our immigration system so that it honors our values, strengthens our economy, supports working families, and restores the rule of law for the long-term.

    Our Immigration System is Broken and Hurts all Workers

     • The problem is not immigrants or immigration; the problem is our broken immigration system. Laws are outdated, unenforceable, and we've lost control of our borders. As long as unscrupulous employers have the ability to exploit workers because they lack legal status, the current system will continue to drive down wages and breed divisions in workplaces and in our communities.
     • An outdated system without legal channels for workers to fill available jobs is bad for:
--- Workers who suffer depressed wages and poor working conditions...
--- Immigrants who are separated from their families; forced to live in the shadows; and
--- U.S. taxpayers who must foot the bill for costly, ineffective enforcement policies. 

Click here to read more at seiu.org

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DEBUNKING IMMIGRATION MYTHS:
'THEY TAKE OUR JOBS'

from seiu.org:

MYTH #1 "Immigrants take our jobs"

THE FACTS:
     • The largest wave of immigration to the U.S. since the early 1900s coincided with our lowest national unemployment rate and fastest economic growth. Immigrants create new jobs by forming new businesses, buying homes, spending their incomes on American goods and services, paying taxes and raising the productivity of U.S. businesses. In fact, between1990 and 2004 , roughly 9 out of 10 native-born workers with at least a high school diploma experienced wage gains because of increased immigration.
     • A legal flow of immigrants based on workforce demand strengthens the U.S. economy by keeping productivity high and countering negative impacts as the U.S. aging population swells. Of the twenty occupations that will see the largest growth in the next seven years, twelve of them only require on-the-job-training--including jobs in SEIU's core industries like home care, cleaning/janitorial services, child care, and hospitality services. But as native-born workers seek higher education and move up the occupational ladder, the number of native-born workers seeking employment in these industries has shrunk.
     • The problem with today's economy is not immigrants; the problem is our broken immigration laws that allow big business to exploit workers who lack legal status, driving down wages for all workers. If every immigrant were required to get into the system, pay their dues, and become U.S. citizens, we could block big business' upper hand, eliminate the two-tiered workforce, and build a united labor movement that raises wages and living standards for all workers.

MYTH #2 "Immigrants Don't Pay Taxes"
MYTH #3 "Immigrants are freeloaders who drain federal and state coffers"
MYTH #4 "Enforcement and Border Security will Solve the Problem"
MYTH #5 "Immigrants Don't Want to Learn English or Become Americans"
MYTH #6 "Immigrants are Uneducated, Low-Skilled and Building a Permanent
MYTH #7 "There are more Immigrants Today than Ever Before in U.S. History"
MYTH #8 "Many Immigrants are Criminals"

THESE ARE ALL MYTHS: CLICK HERE TO LEARN THE REST OF THE FACTS!!!

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