More than 11 million aspiring citizens will have the opportunity to access a road map to citizenship under the terms of a commonsense immigration reform bill that was introduced today .
While immigration reform advocates are still examining the legislation’s 844 pages, here are highlights that address some of the united labor movement’s key immigration principles , including moving forward on creating a road map to citizenship.
Forty faith, labor and community activists prayed, sang and protested outside Manchester’s Norris Cotton Federal Building this afternoon to express outrage about recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in area homes and businesses.
As the bipartisan Gang of Eight continues to draft comprehensive, commonsense immigration policy legislation , thousands of activists, families and supporters of all ages and nationalities flooded the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday for the “ April 10: The Time Is Now ” rally for immigration policy reform with a road map to citizenship.
Recently, the bipartisan group of senators—known as the “Gang of Eight”—who are crafting immigration legislation in Congress signed off on yet another piece of the reform puzzle: a mechanism for new workers to come to the United States regardless of whether they have family living here or the ability to qualify for one of the existing visa programs.
Thousands of working families rallied at the U.S. Capitol yesterday to support a commonsense immigration process that will include a road map to citizenship for the nation's 11 million aspiring Americans.
See the tweets from yesterday below from AFL-CIO Latino and AFL-CIO digital strategist Jessica Morales , along with other ally groups.
Change your Facebook and Twitter avatars .
Perez's story is one of many documented in Taken for a Ride: Migrant Workers in the U.S. Fair and Carnival Industry , a report published by Centro de los Derechos del Migrante Inc. (CDM) and American University Washington College of Law (WCL). Fair and carnival employers bring about 5,000 migrant workers to the United States. Many workers experience similar, if not worse, treatment and working conditions. The report uncovers widespread abuses in the H-2B visa program in the fair and carnival industry, including the following:
Ana Avendaño, assistant to the president and director of immigration and community action at the AFL-CIO, will appear on the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC Saturday morning at 10 a.m. EDT to discuss creating a commonsense immigration process for America's 11 million aspiring citizens.
Follow the Melissa Harris-Perry show and Avendaño on Twitter.
Gregory Cendana, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance ( APALA ), warns that the national debate around creating a commonsense immigration process “has largely ignored a disturbing trend in businesses: the modern-day indentured servitude of temporary workers.”
With reports that comprehensive immigration reform legislation being shaped by the U.S. Senate’s “Gang of Eight” may reduce the number of family visas for aspiring citizens, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and a group of faith leaders today reiterated that family reunification is a core tenet of creating a commonsense immigration process.
This week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joined what Washington Post's Greg Sargent calls the "slow down" caucus . Meaning Rubio, who is a member of the "Gang of Eight" , and a group of Republicans are starting to back away from creating a commonsense immigration process for the nation's 11 million aspiring citizens.
It’s been four years since low-wage workers got a raise. Sign the petition to tell Congress it’s time to raise the minimum wage.
Click here »
Tell us about the good stuff happening where you live and work.
