white-house

Today Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum and Chair of the Reform Immigration for America Campaign met with President Obama and was joined by other immigrant rights leaders from grassroots, labor, and faith organizations for a meeting at the White House on next steps for comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Statement from Ali Noorani:

We had a lively and straightforward meeting with the President and his staff. We made clear that we expect him to keep his promise to overhaul our broken immigration system. We need a system that is fair, just, humane, and that serves our nation’s interests.

The President indicated that his administration is committed to driving a bill forward in the spring of 2010. Based on our conversation, we are optimistic and expecting aggressive and urgent action from the White House on comprehensive immigration reform before March 21st.  That day, tens of thousands of Americans are prepared to take an unprecedented action carrying forward the President’s commitment to comprehensive immigration reform in Congress and finally fixing our broken immigration system.

It’s time for Congress to get moving. Immigration reform for America is long overdue, and it’s past time for the Republican Leadership to stop playing games and get on board with immigration legislation that is good for the economy, good for workers, and good for American families. Senator Graham (R-SC) has shown great courage by joining with Senator Schumer (D-NY) to sponsor comprehensive immigration reform legislation. That isn’t enough, however. This issue is an opportunity for the parties to work together and prove they can deliver for the American people. Senator Graham’s bipartisan leadership should be an example to others and more Republicans should get on board.

Categories: comprehensive immigration reform, New York, South Carolina, Washington DC

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  • Santos De La Rosa

    1000 Mile March On Knees for Immigration Reform

    Here is information that should explain the 1,000 Mile march we are doing on our Knees to Washington DC for Immigration Reform.

    I am going to put down in chronological order what has been happening. We hope you can help us spread this message.
    ” If you park your car and you do not put your quarter in the parking meter your car gets towed.
    These persons who are entering the USA without proper documents are basically committing the same crime as you not putting a quarter in the parking meter and are getting sent/towed to their native country.
    What many people do not know is that these people DO NOT HAVE A METER to put their quarter/application into.
    Help us make the public aware of this and that Congress does not want to put up a meter.

    This is the type of Immigration Reform we need. (Immigration Reform is not Amnesty)

    This is our face book page
    http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Knee-A-Thon-Thank-You-Pilgrimage/147552295338755

    Link to a 10-4-2011 Highlands Today Article

    http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2011/oct/04/LANEWSO1-stop-look-at-march-on-knees/news/
    Link to the 10-8-2011 news article
    http://www.newssun.com/news/100911-ct-Hispanic-march
    Thank you & GOD BLESS U ALL

    —–Original Message—–
    From: kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org [mailto:kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org] On Behalf Of leslie@ruralhome.org
    Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 3:08 PM
    To: kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org
    Subject: [kneeathon] Press release: Kneeling Pilgrimage Seeks Attention for Immigration Reform

    PRESS RELEASE

    Contact: Santos De La Rosa, hipoteca1@comcast.net

    KNEELING PILGRIMAGE SEEKS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO NEED FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM
    Sebring, Florida, Sept. 7, 2011 – Santos De La Rosa plans to leave home at sunrise on September 10, headed for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – on his knees.

    “Traveling a thousand miles on my knees is nothing,” De La Rosa says, “compared to what immigrants in the U.S. have to bear, especially immigrants who are farmworkers.” His journey is intended to draw attention to the reasons many people want to come to the United States, and the hardships they suffer. Ultimately, he hopes to see immigration laws reformed to make it easier for them to come to the U.S., work here, and remain here.
    De La Rosa, age 56, is a third generation American; he and his parents were born in the U.S. As migrant farmworkers, he says, they gained an understanding of the difficulties facing immigrants, particularly undocumented farmworkers. He believes others may not have learned the same lessons.
    “U.S. citizens who complain about undocumented immigrants are not bad people,” De La Rosa says. “But they have never been poor and they also don’t know how hard it is for poor people to get here legally. You can’t wait 10 or 15 years to get a visa before you start providing for your family. Others would probably do the same thing in the same situation. People know they may die trying to get into the U.S., but they feel they have to try anyway. Then when they get here they don’t mind taking the jobs no one else wants, like hard farm labor.”

    De La Rosa has great faith in humanity, as well as in God. He is sure that others will help him through his “Knee-a-Thon” and will even join in for at least part of his travels. He estimates the journey will take years because he cannot set aside the rest of his life to make this trip. He will travel on Saturdays and Sundays, while keeping his full time job for a nonprofit organization in Sebring. Every weekend he will drive farther from home to begin at the point where he finished the previous weekend. (He will not travel on November 12 because of a prior commitment.)

    “I want to say thank you and God bless to all the millions of good people in this great nation that believe in human rights,” De La Rosa states. “Thank you for understanding the obstacles that undocumented immigrants face and for helping them because it’s the right thing to do. I thank those who are in the military also, for preserving American rights so that we can express our opinions, as I am doing with this pilgrimage.”

    De La Rosa plans to use his Face book page to let others know about his progress as he moves toward the Lincoln Memorial.

    # # #

    _________________________________________________________________

    You received this message as a subscriber on the list:

    kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org

    To be removed from the list, send any message to:

    kneeathon-unsubscribe@lists.ruralhome.org

    For all list information and functions, including changing

    your subscription mode and options, visit the Web page:

    http://lists.ruralhome.org/lists/info/kneeathon

    Here is information that should explain the 1,000 Mile march we are doing on our Knees to Washington DC for Immigration Reform.

    I am going to put down in chronological order what has been happening. We hope you can help us spread this message.

    If you park your car and you do not put your quarter in the parking meter your car gets towed.

    These persons who are entering the USA without proper documents are basically committing the same crime as you not putting a quarter in the parking meter and are getting sent/towed to their native country.

    What many people do not know is that these people DO NOT HAVE A METER to put their quarter/application into.

    Help us make the public aware of this and that Congress does not want to put up a meter.

    This is the type of Immigration Reform we need. (Immigration Reform is not Amnesty)

    This is our face book page

    http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Knee-A-Thon-Thank-You-Pilgrimage/147552295338755

    · Link to a 10-4-2011 Highlands Today Article

    http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2011/oct/04/LANEWSO1-stop-look-at-march-on-knees/news/

    · Link to the 10-8-2011 news article

    http://www.newssun.com/news/100911-ct-Hispanic-march

    You will need people to help you with cash for your wish list which includes:

    Gasoline
    Knee pads
    USA Flags
    Tomato Bucket
    Signs, or supplies to make signs

    If you cannot start on in your community we invite you and your friends, family, and contacts to join us. See the info link to keep up where we will be traveling the next weekend.

    Thank you & GOD BLESS U ALL

    Sincerely

    Santos De La Rosa

    863.655.1191 Home

    863.414.2217 cell

    Hipoteca1@comcast.net

    Sebring FL

    —–Original Message—–
    From: kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org [mailto:kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org] On Behalf Of leslie@ruralhome.org
    Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 3:08 PM
    To: kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org
    Subject: [kneeathon] Press release: Kneeling Pilgrimage Seeks Attention for Immigration Reform

    PRESS RELEASE

    Contact: Santos De La Rosa, hipoteca1@comcast.net

    KNEELING PILGRIMAGE SEEKS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO NEED FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM

    Sebring, Florida, Sept. 7, 2011 – Santos De La Rosa plans to leave home at sunrise on September 10, headed for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – on his knees.

    “Traveling a thousand miles on my knees is nothing,” De La Rosa says, “compared to what immigrants in the U.S. have to bear, especially immigrants who are farmworkers.” His journey is intended to draw attention to the reasons many people want to come to the United States, and the hardships they suffer. Ultimately, he hopes to see immigration laws reformed to make it easier for them to come to the U.S., work here, and remain here.

    De La Rosa, age 56, is a third generation American; he and his parents were born in the U.S. As migrant farmworkers, he says, they gained an understanding of the difficulties facing immigrants, particularly undocumented farmworkers. He believes others may not have learned the same lessons.

    “U.S. citizens who complain about undocumented immigrants are not bad people,” De La Rosa says. “But they have never been poor and they also don’t know how hard it is for poor people to get here legally. You can’t wait 10 or 15 years to get a visa before you start providing for your family. Others would probably do the same thing in the same situation. People know they may die trying to get into the U.S., but they feel they have to try anyway. Then when they get here they don’t mind taking the jobs no one else wants, like hard farm labor.”

    De La Rosa has great faith in humanity, as well as in God. He is sure that others will help him through his “Knee-a-Thon” and will even join in for at least part of his travels. He estimates the journey will take years because he cannot set aside the rest of his life to make this trip. He will travel on Saturdays and Sundays, while keeping his full time job for a nonprofit organization in Sebring. Every weekend he will drive farther from home to begin at the point where he finished the previous weekend. (He will not travel on November 12 because of a prior commitment.)

    “I want to say thank you and God bless to all the millions of good people in this great nation that believe in human rights,” De La Rosa states. “Thank you for understanding the obstacles that undocumented immigrants face and for helping them because it’s the right thing to do. I thank those who are in the military also, for preserving American rights so that we can express our opinions, as I am doing with this pilgrimage.”

    De La Rosa plans to use his Face book page to let others know about his progress as he moves toward the Lincoln Memorial.

    # # #

    _________________________________________________________________

    You received this message as a subscriber on the list:

    kneeathon@lists.ruralhome.org

    To be removed from the list, send any message to:

    kneeathon-unsubscribe@lists.ruralhome.org

    For all list information and functions, including changing

    your subscription mode and options, visit the Web page:

    http://lists.ruralhome.org/lists/info/kneeathon

  • Ed Munoz

    I voted for president Obama. I believe the president has every intention to reform immigration once agan as it was done over 10 years ago by Bush. This is not the time. The president needs to focus on healthcare to obtain all the votes from congress to pass it. I am a US citizen and I will not put any pressure on the president to reform immigration until the healthcare issue is resolved. doing it now would alienate Republicans and Democrats alike making it harder to pass any type of immigration reform. Just keep in mind the backlash the undocumented community recieved when you had the first march. It only put us on the map to show the country what a sorry job INS was doing in keeping illigals out. What was their reaction then? They began deporting illigals in massive numbers. Just kep that in mind and think before you act! I believe registered voters priorites are healthcare. This is what affects them the most not the need to legalize millions of unducumented workers who dont have a vote.

  • Justice

    You know, this is real simple. All your friends need to do is put forth the effort to become American Citizens. This is NOT America’s responsibility. We all have to take the necessary steps to achieve anything in life, this is no different. Want the Rewards, then, do the Footwork.

  • Voltaire M. Mercado, Jr.

    To these three dedicated members of the US senate, Senator Schumer (D-NY), Senator Graham (R-SC) and of course my favorite Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, you are the key for the success of US immigration reform. More power to you all.

  • john32

    yes it is time to do something about our immigration system we all know it broken and need to be fix this is the time to do so

  • Carol Friendly

    I am sorry that I won’t be able to come to the march. I am unemployed and don’t have the money to travel. I hope some good will come of it!!! I will say prayers for everyone.

  • Carol Friendly

    USA has an aging population that we are not replacing because of the abortion mandate. 50 + million babies have been murdered since 1973. Generations of Americans are gone plus their decedents. Plus 40% of all couples here are infertile and can’t have babies. So the hard jobs need to be done by someone willing to come here and work hard for their families in agriculture, construction, etc. because we can’t or won’t do it. Guest worker visas need to be made affordable to all who wish to come and work. This way, people can be screened for criminal background and we can try to keep the gang members and drug dealers out. If a legal way is available, then there won’t be a need for honest people to come here illegally.

  • Marco Antonio Rios Pita Giurfa

    These days I have read (I confess that late) The Audacity of hope. Intended to highlight passages that seemed important to me. The third page concluí my purpose was impossible. EVERYTHING WAS SUBRAYABLE. Continue reading without pause and h was fascinated by all. It was certainly a decency MANUAL, A Guide for whom ASPIRE lead with wisdom, wisdom and, above all, for all.

    Now that I write these few lines I remember the end of a paragraph where SR Obama spoke of the good and bad habits of the politicians, preguntandose: when I alooketh and descubriré that now I am one of “those” politicians… Oh, answer difficult for whom this face in the mirror because there is not reflected what is but what you want to be.

    If being political is forgetting the promises to the electoral marginalized, the illegal immigrant expected promised immigration reform.

    If all, all ansolutamente is given by calculating political… If it and the quiet is should the “maneuver” between backstage characteristic of the old political tanning, tanned, sedentary, thirsty; hidden in the silks… If it is true, for example Janet Napolitano is driven to hunt undocumented in the best style of film planet of the apes, Capitol by orders “”

    Bizarre, unthinkable for human morally healthy; if prior to the IMMIGRATION REFORM, all pro March raids have to envy that used to make the Nazi SS are entered by a politician and not a subaltern bureaucrat…

    We then not look even; not juzgemos; maintain that fire of faith; we continue to believe that the greatest leader, that man, a sort of MESIAS of the poor and marginalized, us brighten, sculpted with its programmes and promises the image of decency, the purity of the future of work and rewarded effort…

    We continue believe so because it would lose the next day and the rest of the days.

    We are humble people, working people, people only requests a meter of land where we sit, without fear, protected from abuse, racism, the rejection of , the outrage, aggression…etc.

    We are 55 million Latinos of which 20 have not the roles required in this land of immigrants, in this paradise the freedom (?)

    We will be – want to or not, put a pit full of crocodiles along the frontera-la ANO 2050 the absolute most, years before, days later…

    We are not those who attack reject it because not even agree to have a President of color; we are not owners of insurance companies, we are not part of the pharmaceutical; industry we are not working on Wall street, safe cleaning toilette or cleaning floors…

    We are thought that and even believe in you.In that mentioned book where give class of decency, fitness, CONFIABILIDAD.Where you show with more than because the American village hope elect to the best leader of the last 50 years.

    NOT WE FAIL BRACK!
    Dr.Marco Antonio Rios Pita Giurfa
    Inmigrante

  • Norman Lohr

    i hope the congress start working in the new immigration reform,i do not wait 27 years. god bless immigrants

  • Ansar Mohammed

    That is good to hear! Hopefully they are not just words, but actions! I have been in this great country since the age of 9 years old! At the age of 27 I am still waiting for reform! The time is now! SEE YOU IN WASHINGTON NEXT WEEK