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

By Brent Wilkes on 12/12/2012 @ 07:40 AM

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!

LULAC hosted an immigration reform rally in 2006 to galvanize our community around this important issue. We look forward to coalitions to again gain momentum to finally achieve Comprehensive Immigration Reform!

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.