Action Alert: Rally for Action on Delayed Amnest Cases

WASHINGTON--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.

Members of the "delayed amnesty" cases were dealt a severe setback when Congress stripped the courts to hear their cases in a little noticed provision of the 1996 immigration bill. Now class members are having their work permits confiscated and are loosing their protections from deportation. All class members have lived in the United States since 1982 and many have high paying jobs and U.S. citizen children who are dependent on them for survival.

LULAC members and other advocates will hold a press conference at the Capitol at 11:00 am followed by a rally at White House at 4:00 pm. It is expected that some participants of the rally will announce a hunger strike calling for a meeting with the President to resolve this issue.

Press Conference: When: Wednesday, October 7, 1998 Where: The House Triangle Time: 11 a.m.

Rally: When: Wednesday, October 7, 1998 Where: Lafayette Square Time: 4 pm