News Conference

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels speaks during the OneAmerica news conference. Click photo for more images.


Monday, June 1, 2009
 
For Immediate Release
 
OneAmerica, Seattle Mayor and
community leaders launch national effort
to Reform Immigration FOR America

 

SEATTLE - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and other business, labor and community leaders joined OneAmerica to launch the regional component of the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign, a broad-based national effort to fix the broken immigration system through a comprehensive legislative approach at City Hall on Monday.Reform Immigration FOR America
 
Mubarak Elamin, chairman of the OneAmerica board, said, "We know there are many things on our plate right now as a nation - the economy and health-care reform, just to name two. But we know that immigration reform is also central to both of these issues and that economically and morally, the time is now to fix our broken system."

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said Seattle has an interest in moving forward with immigration reform. "Almost 20 percent of our residents are foreign-born. We need to ensure equal opportunities in programs, services, civic life and protect the constitutional rights of all our residents. ... (We) must ensure that we pass comprehensive immigration reform this year that is fair, just and humane."
 
Renee Radcliff Sinclair, executive director of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the Northwest is particularly impacted by weaknesses in the immigration system. "This issue is particularly important in the Northwest where we have a very robust agricultural community as well as a growing technology sector.  I've worked with cherry orchardists in the Columbia River Valley that have seen their trees so heavy with cherries that the boughs were literally laying on the ground because they were unable to hire people to pick them.  At the same time, I've worked with software companies here in the Puget Sound region that couldn't hire the engineers they needed to bring new products to market in a timely way because we hit the cap on H1-B visas in January of each year. 
 
Jeff Johnson, special assistant to the president of the Washington State Labor Council, discussed the importance of fixing immigration to help all workers. "It is long past time that we end the shadow economy of fear and exploitation that has deprived millions of immigrant workers of basic workplace and health and safety rights and protections, cheated both domestic and foreign-born workers from receiving family wages and benefits, undercut the competitive basis for good employers ... and criminalized workers for having the same desires and aspirations of all workers - to be safe and to provide for their families."
 
A worker named Leandro Barranca-Morales, who was detained in the ICE raids at the Yamato Engine Specialists in Bellingham in February, spoke of his experience, saying he felt he was treated like a criminal and a terrorist, merely for trying to work.

For Benito Valdez, a World War II veteran, the failures of the U.S. immigration system have left a bitter taste after serving with valor in the military. "In 1992, I came to America with bright hopes that I could bring my children here with me. I was very disappointed when I found out that the citizenship granted to Filipino World War II veterans was only for the veteran and did not include their families. How could this happen? How can we live along in America at our age? Now sick with diabetes and after a heart bypass, here I am still waiting for my children after 15 years."

 
On Wednesday, June 3, the national campaign will be launched in Washington, DC, and Thursday, June 4, OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal will co-emcee a national Town Hall with over 700 people from around the country and members of Congress.
 
How to get involved
 
Organizations interested in joining the campaign to Reform Immigration for America can visit the campaign site www.ReformImmigrationFORAmerica.org or www.ReformaMigratoriaProAmerica.org
 
 
Critical Components of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
 
1)       A rational and humane approach to the undocumented population.  For the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in this country, we must create a process that leads to lawful permanent resident status and eventual citizenship.  Undocumented immigrants working and living in the U.S. must be counted through a registration program that includes reasonable submission to background checks, paying an appropriate fine, paying taxes and studying English.  If they satisfy these requirements, they must be given lawful permanent statusand a path to citizenship.
 
2)       Keep American families together and reduce immigration backlogs.  Our outdated family immigration channels, which keep close family members separated for decades, must be reformed to restore our commitment to promoting family unity.  Those stuck in endless "backlogs" should have their admission expedited, and those admitted on work visas should be able to keep their nuclear families intact.
 
3)       Ensure appropriate ways for workers to come in legally in the future with full worker rights and labor protections.  We must protect all workers' right to organize and bargain collectively, regardless of whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad.  Any employment verification system should determine employment authorization accurately and efficiently while protecting workers and good-faith employers and must contain sufficient due process and privacy protections. 
 
4)       Allocate sufficient visas to close unlawful migration channels.  A great failure of our current employment-based immigration system is that the level of legal immigration is set arbitrarily by Congress without regard to real labor market needs.  The resulting extra-legal migration channels have created a shadow economy that has allowed unscrupulous employers to manipulate the system to the detriment of workers and reputable employers alike.  Any reform package must allocate employment visas through an independent commission that can assess labor shortages and determine the number and characteristics of foreign workers to be admitted, with Congress' approval.
 
5)       Protect fundamental rights for all.  Our immigration enforcement system must reflect the American values of due process and civil rights for all people. Enforcement must target genuine threats to our national security and all enforcement actions must be subject to accountability mechanisms. Alternatives to detention should be considered and special protections provided for vulnerable populations. Detention should be a last resort and there must be legally enforceable detention standards.
 
6)       Promote immigrant integration.  The federal government must help new immigrants become citizens if eligible, learn our language and laws, ensure equal opportunity for immigrants to participate in programs and services and support state and local governments' efforts to help integrate these new Americans. 
 
Sensible Enforcement Principles
Once comprehensive immigration reform has been passed, we must ensure there is a sensible enforcement strategy that keeps America safe, protects due process and human rights, and makes the most effective use of tools and policies already available in a fair and responsible manner.  This means prioritizing enforcement actions to genuine threats; prosecution of unscrupulous employers who are exploiting vulnerable workers; and preventing exploitation of the immigration system by those who seek to do the country harm.  This strategy, however, must be coupled with vigorous enforcement of civil rights and labor and employment laws.  An effective strategy must not include continued use of local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law, indiscriminate worksite and neighborhood immigration raids, and blanket detention policies.  Border enforcement must reflect American values, prioritizing the safety and security of border communities and consulting with these communities in the process.
 
###
 
Campaign Endorsements
9 to 5, National Association of Working Women
ACCESS (duplicate?)
ACORN
AFL-CIO
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, Inc.
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Alliance to Develop Power
American Arab Forum
American Dream Community Agency
American Immigration Law Center
American Immigration Lawyers Association
American Jewish Committee
America's Voice
Amigos Hispanos
Anti-Defamation League
Aquifer Media
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)
Arizona Advocacy Network
Arizona Interfaith Network
ASCOMBRA - Brazilian Community Association
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
Badmus Law Firm
Beardstown/Rushville Immigrant Families United - Gamaliel Affiliate
Blue Ridge Immigration Law Center, PLLC
Border Action Network
Border Ambassadors
Border Farmworkers of El Paso
Border Network for Human Rights
Breakthrough: Building Human Rights Culture
Brown and Caldwell / CIRC
Cambodian Community Development, Inc.
Capacity Partnership Group
Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition (CAIR Coalition)
CASA de Maryland
Casa Esperanza
Catholic Social Services
CAUSA
CBO (Consejo Binacional de Organizaciones Comunitarias Mexicanas)
Center for American Progress
Center for Community Change
Center for New Community
Centro Campesino Inc.
Centro de la Familia
Centro de Orientaci�n del Inmigrante (CODI)
Centro Independiente para Trabajadores Agr�colas (CITA)
Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform
Chicago Irish Immigrant Support
Church World Service, Immigration and Refugee Program
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers
Coalition of Latino Leaders-CLILA
Cobb Immigrant Alliance
COFEM
Colombians for TPS
Colombo Americans in Action
Colorado Council of Churches
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC)
Congregations Organizing for Renewal
Congreso
CONLAMIC
Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action at Manhattanville College
Conocer es Poder
Dando la Mano
Diversity Research and Action Center
Dominican Sisters of Houston
DV GROUP
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos
El Centro Inc.
El Paso County Attorney Office
El Pueblo
Emigrantes Sin Fronteras
Equal Justice Center
Esperanto Studies Resource Center
Evanston Immigrant Advocacy Project
Farmworkers Association of Florida
Federal & Hasson, Attorneys
FEDYC INC
Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR)
Georgia Rural Urban Summit
Guatemalan-Maya Center, The
Haitian Center of the Diocese of Trenton
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Inc (HIAS)
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama
Hispanic Liaison / El V�nculo Hispano
Hispanic Women's Organization of Arkansas
Hmong National Development
Holy Cross Catholic Church/Ministerio Hispano
Honduran Unity-Unidad Hondure�a
Hudson Valley Community Coalition
Huntsville International Help Center
Idaho Community Action Network
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrant Advocacy Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center
Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County
Immigrant Rights Defense Committee of New Jersey
Immigrant Rights Network of Iowa
Immigration Equality
Instituto de Educaci�n Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA)
International Institute of Rhode Island
International Institute of the Bay Area
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI)
Irish Apostolate USA
Jadoo & Zalenski, LLC
JCRC of Greater Washington
Jewish Community Action
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
JMC Strategies
Joint Commission for Church Extension
Justice Overcoming Boundaries in San Diego County
Korean American Resource and Cultural Center of Chicago
Korean Resource Center of Los Angeles
LA Voice PICO
LALDEF, Inc.
Latin America Taskforce Network; River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Latin American Coalition
Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF)
Latina Initiative
Latino Commission on AIDS
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Latinos Unidos de Alabama
Latinos With Disabilities
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #636
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 320
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 761
Legal Aid Justice Center
Logan Square Neighborhood Association
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
Make the Road New York
MAS-Freedom, North Carolina
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office
Mi Familia Vota Colorado
Middle TN Hispanic Democrats
Migrant Support Services of Wayne County (MSS)
Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network
Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates
Missouri Stream Team 882
MOSES-Gamaliel of Michigan
Nacoochee Presbyterian Outreach
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Education Association
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Movement for Legalization and Human Rights
National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC)
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
New Americans Caucus, Maryland House of Delegates
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network (NJIPN)
New York City Labor-Religion Coalition
New York Immigration Coalition
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations
Northwest Workers Justice Project
Oblates JPIC Office
OCA - Embracing the hopes and aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans
OneAmerica
ONE Lowell
Organizing for America on the East End
OrlandoWest Insurance Corporation
P.A.N.D.O.R.A.- Patient Alliance for Neuroendocrine Immune Disorder
P.A.S.O.- West Suburban Action Project
P.U.E.B.L.O
Paetenians International
People for the American Way
Peruvian American Political Action Committee of New Jersey
Philippine News
Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
Popol Vuh Latinoam�rica Association
Poultry Plantation, Inc.
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Progressive States Network
Rabbinical Assembly
Red Migrantes from Texas
Redlands Christian Migrant Association
Refugee and Immigration Ministries of the Christian Church (Disc
Rockland Immigration Coalition
SALEF - Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund
Salgado & Associates, PLLC
San Francisco Organizing Project
SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center
Scott D. Pollock & Associates, P.C.
SEIU Local 100
Service Employees International Union
Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network
Shirlington Employment and Education Center, INC
Si Se Puede Latino Democratic Caucus
Sin Fronteras, VEP
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sisters of St. Francis
Sojourners/Call to Renewal/ Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Somos America/We Are America Coalition
Somos Un Pueblo Unido
South Asian Americans Leading Together
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning
St. Stephen's Grace Community - ELCA
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)
Student Immigrant Movement (SIM)
Sunflower Community Action
The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc.
The Episcopal Church USA
The Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Redwood, CA
The M Foundation
The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
The Sisters of the Presentation
TIGRA (
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrant
Union for Reform Judaism - Religious Action Center of Reform Jud
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Unite for Dignity, Inc.
United Church of Christ
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
United Methodist Church
United States Peru Chamber of Commerce
University Leadership Initiative
Voces de la Frontera
Washington Community Action Network
Westchester Hispanic Coalition
WISDOM, the Gamaliel Foundation in Wisconsin
World Organization for Human Rights
WOW Foundation, Inc.
Ya Basta! Tod@s Contra el Muro
YKASEC-Empowering the Korean American Community

 
Join the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America!
 
We invite your organization to join the campaign to Reform Immigration for America today.  Please sign on your organization to the campaign at the following website.
For more information:
Naomi Ishisaka
Communications Director
C: 206-853-3339
[email protected]

High resolution photos available on request.

Principles of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Download PDF

About OneAmericaOneAmerica Logo
OneAmerica, formerly Hate Free Zone, is a non-profit organization that advances the fundamental principles of democracy and justice by building power within immigrant communities.

For more information call Naomi Ishisaka, Communications Director (206) 853-3339 or  [email protected]