LULAC Immigration

As you might know, ARCA (Association for Residency and Citizenship of America) was formed by members of the class action suits CSS v. Reno and Newman (LULAC) v. INS when they met in Washington, D.C. in May of this year.

October 7, 1998, LULAC Executive Director Brent Wilkes hosted a press conference on the House Triangle where members of Congress and other national Hispanic organizations came together in a joint call for justice. Thousands of immigrants have been awaiting the resolution of their residency status since the were improperly prevented from legalizing it more than a decade ago. Although the INS long ago admitted that they had illegally turned away qualified applicants under the 1986-87 amnesty program, they have refused to offer a remedy to those affected and have contested a collection of class action lawsuits designed to force them to process the applications.

On Tuesday, November 10, over a hundred members of the "Late Amnesty" class will begin a nationwide fast in attempt to gain the attention of the White House and the Department of Justice over an issue that has remained unresolved for almost a decade.

LULAC National President Rick Dovalina is calling for all LULAC members and other advocates from across the United States to converge on Washington, DC Wednesday to press the Clinton administration to process the applications of thousands of immigrants who had been improperly prevented from legalizing their status more than a decade ago. Although the INS long ago admitted that they had illegally turned away qualified applicants under the 1986-87 amnesty program, they have refused to offer a remedy to those affected and have contested a collection of class action lawsuits designed to force them to process the applications.

Speech introduction by Brent Wilkes: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Brent Wilkes and I am the National Executive Director of LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens. LULAC is the largest and oldest membership-based civil rights organization for Hispanics in the United States.