President Obama’s new DREAM relief policy would allow undocumented youth who qualify to request temporary relief from deportation, making them eligible to receive work permits and a social security number.
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Reaffirming American Values
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Would Reunite American Families
- Massive bureaucratic backlogs can keep family members apart for years or even decades. Arbitrary visa quotas and bureaucratic delays can separate families for years. It takes an average of almost 5 years for a legal permanent resident to get a visa for his or her spouse or young child, and 10 years to get a visa for a son or daughter who is over the age of 21. Comprehensive immigration reform would reduce these backlogs significantly so that future immigration is controlled, orderly, and legal.
- Those who want to send parents and their children “home” should recognize that they already are home. Most undocumented immigrants have been in the U.S. for more than five years, and most live in family units.
- According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 3 million U.S. citizens have at least one undocumented parent. Under the current system, these children of “mixed-status” families live under the threat that they will either be separated from their parents or forced to leave their home country: the United States. Comprehensive immigration reform would allow them to grow up in stable American families
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Would Help Us Live Up to American Values
- Extending welcome to those who come to this country for a better life is part of our American heritage. Through most of the United States’ history, there was no such thing as “illegal immigration.” The waves of Irish, German, Italian, Polish, and Jewish immigrants who came to the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries—the ancestors of most Americans of European descent—were allowed to enter the United States as long as they were healthy. The restrictions which made some immigration “illegal” were first put in place in the early 1900s.
- Most undocumented immigrants want to obtain legal status, support their families, pay taxes and learn English. The backlogs for visas, green cards and citizenship (for those eligible) and for English-language classes—not to mention the number of undocumented workers who pay taxes demonstrate that most undocumented immigrants would be willing to do what it takes to be eligible for legalization and citizenship, if only there were a way for them to get legal.
- Faith groups of all political backgrounds recognize that immigration reform is a moral imperative. Denominations and organizations that have joined the Interfaith Immigration Coalition or issued public statements in favor of reform include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; the National Association of Evangelicals; the American Jewish Committee; the Episcopal Church; the Islamic Information Center; the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations; the United Methodist Church; Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service; the Union for Reform Judaism; the Presbyterian Church; United Sikhs; and the American Friends Service Committee.
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We honor our men and women in the armed forces, and congratulate our military DREAMers for their continuing successes…
Learn MoreThis Memorial Day, America’s Voice and America’s Voice Education Fund would like to take time to honor our men and women in uniform. We’d also like to congratulate our military DREAMers, who won a big victory this week when the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senator Blumenthal’s amendment 12, which would allow DREAMers to serve in the [...]
Learn MoreToday, America’s Voice Education Fund and fellow immigration experts held the thirteenth in a series of weekly press briefings, or Immigration Reform “Office Hours.” Each week, a different and diverse group of speakers shares the latest information on the players, politics, legislation and other developments in the debate in Washington and around the nation. Moderated [...]
Learn MoreNow that the Senate Judiciary Committee has passed the Gang of 8 immigration bill out of markup, it is now in Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)’s hands, and Reid has said that he will bring the bill to a vote in June. And, Reid recently promised, “I will do everything in my power to help [...]
Learn MoreThis week, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Gang of 8’s immigration bill with a bipartisan vote (13-5), clearing the first official legislative hurdle for final passage in 2013. After a robust debate featuring over 200 amendments—141 of which were adopted—the bill heads to the Senate floor with the core provisions intact. At the same [...]
Learn MoreFox News Latino: House Republican Leaders Say They Will Not Rubber-Stamp Senate Immigration Bill Associated Press: House Immigration Group Resolves Dispute By Erica Werner CNN: House immigration plan’s near death experience By Deirdre Walsh Politico: Wild, wacky world of House immigration talks By: Jake Sherman and Seung Min Kim Reuters: U.S. House won’t follow Senate [...]
Learn MoreMore than 100 influential conservative economists today released an open letter to Congressional leadership calling for immigration reform and highlighting its economic benefits. The letter’s signers comprised a who’s who of notable conservative economists, including Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Art Laffer, Glenn Hubbard, Ed Lazear, Larry Lindsey, June O’Neill, George Schultz and more (many of whom have served in the Bush [...]
Learn MoreThere has been a persistent myth in the immigration debate that the anti-reform side is large, powerful, and organized. However, the 2013 immigration debate is revealing that assessment is profoundly untrue. According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice: The Senate Judiciary Committee markup confirms what we already knew – this year’s reform debate is [...]
Learn MoreUpdate: He’s doing it! Tom Tancredo said that he will soon officially announce his bid for Colorado Governor. From the Denver Post: Tancredo last week indicated he is strongly considering a run for governor in 2014. As of Wednesday night, Tancredo had not filed the necessary paperwork with the secretary of state’s office. Tancredo did note, however, [...]
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