LULAC Launches "Latinos for Immigration Reform"
December 13, 2012
Contact: Paloma Zuleta
202-812-4477
Washington, D.C. – Today, on the Capitol Lawn in Phoenix, Arizona, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) announced the details of a multi-tiered nationwide campaign to garner congressional support for comprehensive immigration reform. The "Latinos for Immigration Reform" campaign will be focused on bringing the voice of the community to Congress. The campaign has also invited the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and other organizations and stakeholders to join the cause and engage their respective memberships in holding Congressional representatives accountable.
“Now is the time to fix our nation’s broken immigration system,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “Most Latinos who voted in this past election did so with the hope that Congress and the Administration would agree to pass fair and just immigration reform that would allow hard working people to realize their dream of becoming American citizens. With the campaign, we are continuing our work to ensure that the House and Senate bring comprehensive immigration reform to their chambers for action in early 2013.” Before the election, LULAC and our partners rightly predicted that the presidential election would see unprecedented numbers of Latino voters. With a record 12 million Latino voters casting their ballots, we know this growing trajectory will represent a larger share of the voting public each year moving forward.
“Comprehensive immigration reform should include a clear pathway to citizenship because it is a critical issue to the future of both political parties, our economy, and our country,” said Arizona Senator Steve Gallardo. “I am encouraged by the fact that Congress is taking a serious look at comprehensive immigration reform and know that LULAC campaign will help make sure we keep the momentum going in order to pass true immigration reform in 2013.”
The details for the "Latinos for Immigration Reform" campaign are listed below:
I Voted for Immigration Reform - For the next couple of weeks, LULAC will work with its vast councils and over 115,000 members to send “I Voted for Immigration Reform” postcards to their respective members of Congress, urging them to support fair and just immigration reform. The postcard will also lay out the policy priorities for immigration reform, which include 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.
Campaign Website – In order to increase participation in the "Latinos for Immigration Reform” campaign, we have created a website where visitors can sign up for the campaign and authorize us to send a postcard to their members of Congress on their behalf, urging their representatives to support this very important issue for our community. For more information you can go to www.LULAC.org/CIR2013.
Congressional Visits - The campaign will also include congressional visits where our members will have an opportunity to voice their support for immigration reform directly to their member of Congress.
Social Media Campaign
Facebook Advocacy: We will host an online grassroots campaign to highlight the urgency of comprehensive immigration reform. LULAC members and allies will raise their voice online by expanding the dialogue through post sharing with friends and elected officials. We will post educational micro-blogs on the importance of reforming the flawed immigration system on the Facebook fan page and urge our allies to add the “I Voted for Immigration Reform” logo to their profile picture.
Twitter Town Halls: To activate the energy online, LULAC will host Twitter town halls with key Latino organizations, think tanks, and members of Congress to discuss online the social and economic impact of implementing comprehensive immigration reform. Leaders will be available to answer questions on the transformational effect of this critical legislation. The hashtag to join the conversation would be #CIR13. More information will be forthcoming.
Blog Carnival: LULAC will invite members of Congress and national advocates to participate in a blog carnival to further the national dialogue on the urgent need for transforming our immigration system. A blog carnival is a collection of blog posts on one theme, in this case on immigration, gathered together onto one blog. The opinions will reflect the national sentiment to pass legislation. More information is forthcoming. LULAC’s blog can be found at www.LULAC.org/blog.
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.