More than 16,000 people gathered together to listen in on a virtual “town hall” conference call from Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) as he galvanized support for comprehensive immigration reform for the upcoming months. “I am committed to introducing a bill in December, but we need your voices demanding reform by calling your local legislators everyday if you have to,” said Gutierrez.
“Asian and Pacific Islanders have an important stake in immigration reform. Our communities must be mobilized now or we will be left behind in the immigration debate,” said Lisa Chen, community advocate for the Asian Law Caucus.
Luis Gutierrez is set to introduce legislation that will provide some path to a green card for the 12 million undocumented immigrants as early as December. Thirteen percent of the estimated 12 million living in the United States without legal status are from Asian countries. In the Bay Area, there are 180,000 undocumented Asians living in the Bay Area.
Severely draconian legislation has come out of Congress in recent years including proposals to eliminate the family immigration system and criminalizing all 12 million undocumented immigrants, possibly resulting in jail time. During the 2006 immigration debate, Congressional representatives received constituent calls at a rate of 20-to-1 opposing reform, virtually overshadowing immigrant voices.
To ensure that Congress does not reintroduce some of these bad proposals as part of a compromise deal, Asian Pacific Islander communities must come together and tell Congress what they want to see as part of the immigration reform measure. The Asian Law Caucus calls on religious and community leaders from Asian Pacific Islander communities to begin to mobilize and organize in preparation for comprehensive immigration reform.
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The Asian Law Caucus is the nation’s first legal and civil rights organization serving the low-income Asian Pacific American communities. Its mission is to promote, advance, and represent the legal and civil rights of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Visit www.asianlawcaucus.org for more information.
CONTACT:
Lisa Chen, (415) 896-1701 ext 117
lisc@asianlawcaucus.org
