May 1, is International Workers Day across the Globe. Throughout the U.S., groups that consistently support the condition of workers highlighted immigrants this year because it is these workers that are often subject to exploitation in the workplace.
Action Needed: Write to Senator Marco Rubio (R FL), one of the members of the Gang of eight in the Senate who prepared S. 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and immigration Modernization Act”. Senator Rubio has ……….opened a comment page on his website to reach out nationwide to get feedback on the bill. This is a unique opportunity for JALSA members to reach out to him to reinforce our priorities in the bill. 1 – If you have a Florida address or can write along with a Florida resident, be sure to mention that. But, he is interested in people throughout the country, so don’t let your MA residency stop you from writing. 2. Thank the senator for his work on immigration reform. We want him to know that we think the bill goes in the right direction (Some of his constituents do not want any path to citizenship.). 3. If you have time to go further, please raise one of these issues of concern as ways to improve the bill as it goes forward: a. Under the conditions of the bill, undocumented immigrants could pay taxes for 10 years and still not have access to benefits like food stamps and preventive health screenings if needed. The extension of the current 5 year ban that keeps new green card holders from accessing means-tested federal programs plus the long road to citizenship in the bill makes this limitation on benefits too long. b. The exclusion of LGBT people from the definition of family means that bi-national same sex couples and their families can be separated for years because family unification laws won’t apply to them. c. The elimination of the sibling visa category is not right. Fill in your name, email address and comment directly on the Senator’s website.
Let us know you wrote and we can post your comments on our JALSA website. Let us know if you want to work on JALSA’s Immigration Reform Team. Click here.
