Largest Latino Civil Rights and Advocacy Group in the U.S. Helps Turn Up Heat on Congress To Pass Immigration Reform with Citizenship Path

September 5, 2013

Media Contact: Paloma Zuleta, (202) 812-4477
PZuleta (at) LULAC.org

LULAC Joins Massive Call to Action on Oct. 5 Aimed at Moving House to a Vote on Immigration Legislation

Washington, D.C. — The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the nation’s largest, oldest and most active Hispanic civil rights organization, announced today that it will join dozens of immigrant advocacy, civil rights, labor, and faith organizations for major demonstrations on the October 5th National Day of Dignity and Respect. They are demanding that House GOP leaders vote on fair and just immigration reform with legalization and a path to citizenship this year.

The immigration campaign escalation comes more than three months after 68 senators -- Republicans and Democrats -- passed a reform bill that overhauls the nation's immigration system for the first time in nearly 30 years and includes an earned path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the GOP-controlled House has refused to schedule a floor vote even though a House majority supports the citizenship path, with some conservatives even refusing to consider the wide-ranging implications such as strong family reunification standards, a stable and legal work workforce with protections against exploitation, and a secured border.

With an unprecedented 12 million Latino voters casting ballots in 2012 and delivering a mandate for commonsense immigration reform, LULAC National President Margaret Moran is calling on LULAC members to turn up the heat on Congress.

“As members of our communities across every region in this country, we have to be diligent about passing immigration reform and raising public awareness about its importance,” Moran said. “This issue affects the nation as a whole. Latinos, communities of color, and working families must ensure that Congress does the right thing for our values, our economy, and our future.”

The organization’s participation in the National Day of Action demonstrates its larger commitment to tackling the additional issues facing the Latino households, said LULAC National Executive Director Brent A. Wilkes.

“We are committed to addressing the struggles that all Hispanics in the U.S. have to endure in order to improve the economic, educational, political, health and civil rights of the Latino population,” Wilkes said. “Now is the time to pass immigration reform and recreate the standards for other policies that allow hard working people to realize their own American Dream.”

The Oct. 5 events, including marches and rallies, are planned in more than 40 cities across the nation. LULAC, with a vast network of grassroots organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, will organize voter registration drives and call on its vast membership to join its Latinos United for Immigration Reform E-Mail Campaign in order to contact their Member of Congress expressing support for immigration reform.

(Find more details on these events at www.lulac.org).

Through email and phone banking campaigns targeting lawmakers, as well as in-district meetings with members of Congress, LULAC is providing forums for communities and local civic and economic leaders to communicate the importance of immigration reform. Since January, LULAC has organized nearly 60 town halls, voter registration drives, and generated immigration petitions calling on Congress to pass immigration reform.

For more information, turnout fliers, and materials--go to www.OctoberImmigration.org or www.ReformaOctubre.org.

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About LULAC:
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