Protecting Family Unity, Strengthening Communities and Ensuring a Thriving Economy with the Contributions of Immigrants

Posted by Brent Wilkes on 12/12/2012 @ 12:40 PM

This post is part of the Moms Rising blog carnival, “Protecting Family Unity, Strengthening Communities and Ensuring a Thriving Economy with the Contributions of Immigrants.” Be sure to visit the site and read the contributions of more than 30 Congressional, non-profit leaders, and advocates from around the country!

There are more similarities between the everyday American family and the immigrant family than there are differences. The immigrant family works hard for the opportunity to provide for their families; create a better future for their children, and share an equal love and respect for this country. Each immigrant has a particular story about the journey they took in order to call this country home. Some families have been waiting as long as twenty years for Congress to pass immigration reform that will afford them the same opportunities as the rest of the American citizenry. Most Latinos who voted in this election did so with the hope that Congress and the Administration would reach a compromise on immigration reform that would allow families in their community to realize their dream of becoming American citizens.

The recent presidential election showed once again that the Latino electorate is critical to winning the White House. According to exit polling done by Latino Decisions, President Obama won with 75% of the Hispanic vote while Governor Romney only received 23%. This 52 point margin decided the election in favor of the President putting him over the top with the popular vote and the Electoral College. Eligible voters registered and voted in unprecedented numbers. Before the election, LULAC and our partners had predicted that a record 12 million Latino voters would cast their ballots in the 2012 election and due to grassroots efforts to register Latino voters, our prediction came true. This trajectory only indicates that our numbers will continue to grow as we expect even higher turnouts in 2016.

The Latino community cares about the same issues as the rest of the country but Comprehensive Immigration Reform remains a critical issue as 65% of voters support a pathway to citizenship.

In an effort to galvanize the momentum around Comprehensive Immigration Reform, LULAC launched the “I Voted For Immigration Reform” campaign focused on bringing the voice of the community to Congress. For the next couple of weeks, LULAC will work with its vast councils and membership to send “I Voted For Immigration Reform” postcards to their respective members of Congress, urging them to support this very critically needed legislation for our country. The postcard will also lay out the policy priorities for immigration reform, which includes an effective and practical immigration system that provides a pathway to citizenship; accounts for future flow; and reunites families in a manner that does not penalize sexual orientation.

We urge the community to get involved. You can help our campaign by providing your name and address so that we can send a postcard on your behalf to your respective member of Congress urging them to support this very important issue for our community. For more information you can go to http://LULAC.org/CIR2013.

We need your help to make Comprehensive Immigration Reform a reality.

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Join us at the NO MAS HAMBRE Summit on December 7 in Washington DC!

Posted on 11/26/2012 @ 04:50 PM

By Alfredo Estrada, Editor, LATINO Magazine

Each year, most of us celebrate the holiday season with our families at tables groaning with roast turkeys and stuffing, giving thanks for the privilege.

Yet last year nearly 50 million other Americans had nothing to celebrate, and went hungry. And for Latinos the figures are even grimmer. About 26.2% of Latino households faced hunger, almost twice as much as other Americans. Yet for many of us, this overwhelming health disparity remains a dark secret. Few issues impact us and our families so directly, so viscerally. It's literally a matter of life and death. But hunger in the Latino community is rarely discussed.

Why is this? We are a proud people, and the thought that we can not feed our young children and aging parents, much less ourselves, is deeply shameful. And many undocumented immigrants avoid government-supported assistance for fear of being deported. But there is another reason. Many Latinos simply don't know the facts. Clearly, Latino media has not done enough to inform our community that almost one in three of us go hungry. Yet if Latinos don't know, they can't help themselves. As for those of us who do know, unless we get involved, we can't help those less fortunate.

LATINO Magazine has addressed this lack of awareness and engagement through an initiative called NO MAS HAMBRE. Its objective is to raise awareness of hunger in our community through articles in LATINO Magazine, our website at NoMasHambre.com, and our annual Summit, which brings together Latino community leaders, hunger relief experts, government officials, corporate executives, and ordinary people to develop a Latino anti-hunger agenda.

I invite you to join us at the 2012 NO MAS HAMBRE Summit, to be held on Friday, December 7, 2012 at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St. NW in Washington, DC. Our second annual conference starts at 9 AM with invited speakers such as Max Finberg, USDA and will continue with interactive panels and roundtable discussions throughout the day. There is a complimentary lunch at 12-1 PM and the Summit will conclude at 3:00 PM. All are welcome and there is no cost to attend. To register, please go to http://www.latinomagazine.com/registration.htm.

I hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at ajestrada@latinomagazine.com. ¡Gracias!

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