Donate Now: Aid to Latino Families of Baltimore Bridge Tragedy Donate Here
* 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the families impacted by the devastating Baltimore bridge collapse.

LULAC Galvanizes Community on Comprehensive Immigration Reform with Immigration Summit on Capitol Hill

October 4, 2012

Contact: Paloma Zuleta
PZuleta@LULAC.org

Washington DC - Today, on Capitol Hill LULAC held an immigration summit that included a plenary discussion along with a series of strategy sessions where 200 attendees, policy leaders, community advocates engaged in a robust dialogue. The sessions also produced recommendations for ensuring the immigration, asylum, and naturalization processes respect the dignity of the individual, and reflect our nation’s commitment to human and civil rights.

The panel of speakers included Rebecca Carson, Chief of Staff for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Gary Mead, Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations at ICE; Felicia Escobar, Immigration Policy Advisor for the Domestic Policy Council at the White House; Jeremy Robbins from the Partnership for a New American Economy; and Kristian Ramos with NDN & New Policy Institute.

Federal immigration law continues to be a major concern of the Latino community. Of the 52 million Latinos in the United States, 38 percent are foreign-born.

“Our country has always stood as a beacon of unbridled opportunity for those who work hard and play by the rules,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “Recent political rhetoric has twisted the American mantra of opportunity into an unjustified xenophobic mentality that include calls for self-deportation and state legislation that trumps federal law by mandating law enforcement to racially profile its own citizenry.”

A recent PEW study indicates that passage of the DREAM Act would add $329 billion to the economy by 2030 and would support the creation of 1.4 million new jobs, and generate more than $10 billion in increased revenue for the federal government.

###
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 900 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.lulac.org.