Keep the Calls Coming!

[sigue en español]



Dear Friends,



The immigration debate moves forward and no one is happy about the negotiations. We have been asking you to contact Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer over the past couple of days. Your calls are being heard, but we need more of you to make the call and forward the message to loved ones, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.

I want to draw your attention to the paragraph about and the quote from Dianne Feinstein:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) — a key negotiator of the deal — said Tuesday that her office has received negative feedback on the bill, though it has not yet reached a level of concern for her. “The bulk of the calls have been hostile,” Feinstein said, explaining that “In California, when you get 40,000 or 50,000 calls you know something is going on, and I’ve only gotten about 4,000 calls.”

Let’s send the Senator the message that she should be concerned with what is being debated in the Senate! Please call her office today, tomorrow, and next week (when she will be in the district).

Sample points:

· Keep families together and not eliminate the family based system. No to a point system that is crafted for big business and undermines the worthiness of immigrants permanently settling in the US

· Legalization that does not keep families waiting in limbo, but happens within a reasonable timeline without arbitrary triggers

· Greater investments to address family visa backlog rather than throwing money away at border enforcement. It’s a flawed policy that does not work!

· Stronger due process rights for immigrants.

· No guest worker programs that would create an underclass of workers in the US


Senator Dianne Feinstein Senator Barbara Boxer
In Washington DC 202-224-3841 In Washington DC 202-224-3553
In San Francisco 415-393-0707 In San Francisco 415-403-0100

PS – the quote & paragraph appeared in Roll Call, a newspaper that covers the Capitol based in Washington, DC. It was sent to us by Judy Golub from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. The full article is here.

Amig@s,

El debate sobre como reformar el sistema migratorio continua y nadie esta contento de lo que esta pasando. En los últimos días, les hemos pedido que llamen a las Senadoras Feinstein y Boxer, y sus voces en contra de la legislación se están escuchando, pero necesitamos que más de ustedes hagan esa llamada.

Les quiero llamar la atención al siguiente párrafo y a lo que dijo la Senadora:



Senadora Dianne Feinstein (D-California). — un negociador clave del trato — dijo el martes que su oficina ha recibido reacción negativa, pero no ha alcanzado todavía un nivel de preocupación para ella. “El bulto de las llamadas han sido hostil,” dijo Feinstein, explicando que “En California, cuando uno consigue 40,000 o 50,000 llamadas sabes que algo esta pasando, y sólo he conseguido aproximadamente 4,000 llamadas.”



Vamos a mandarle el mensaje a la Senadora que debe estar más preocupada con nuestras llamadas en contra de la legislación que se propone en el Senado. Por favor llámela hoy, mañana y la próxima semana (cuando estará en el distrito).



Puntos clave:

· No separar nuestras familias con la eliminación del sistema de inmigración basado en la familia. No a un sistema basado en el comercio y de trabajadores temporales.

· Un programa de legalización sin esperar casi una década y sin fechas de limite arbitrarias

· Mayores inversiones para dirigirse a la reserva de visas familiares y menos dinero tirado a la frontera. ¡Esto es una política defectuosa que no trabaja!

· Derechos civiles más fuertes para inmigrantes.

· No a programas de trabajadores huéspedes que crearían una clase baja de trabajadores en los EE.UU

Senadora Dianne Feinstein Senadora Barbara Boxer
En Washington DC 202-224-3841 En Washington DC 202-224-3553
En San Francisco 415-393-0707 En San Francisco 415-403-0100



PD – el párrafo de la Senadora fue parte de un artículo en el periódico Roll Call de Washington, DC. Judy Golub del centro de recursos legales migratorios nos mando el artículo que se puede encontrar aquí – pero solo en inglés.









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Recess Battle On Tap for Immigration Measure

May 23, 2007
By John Stanton,
Roll Call Staff
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Senate proponents of a bipartisan overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws are bracing for what could be a rough recess week, planning daily press conferences and other outreach efforts in the runup to the Memorial Day break aimed at countering withering criticism aimed at the deal.

At the same time, immigrants’ rights organizations, labor unions and conservative opponents of the bill are all stepping up their attacks and hope to use the break to pressure rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans to kill the legislation.

While members of the bipartisan group, which crafted the reform deal now being debated on the Senate floor, convinced Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to give them an extra week following the Memorial Day recess to complete the bill, the delay also gives opponents significant time to build momentum against the deal.

In fact, GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and Johnny Isakson (Ga.) — who are members of the 12-person bipartisan group behind the deal — were booed during home-state events Saturday, and several aides said Tuesday their offices have been inundated with negative calls.

“Our phone’s been ringing off the hook,” one Republican aide said, adding “and none of them have been positive.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) — a key negotiator of the deal — said Tuesday that her office has received negative feedback on the bill, though it has not yet reached a level of concern for her. “The bulk of the calls have been hostile,” Feinstein said, explaining that “In California, when you get 40,000 or 50,000 calls you know something is going on, and I’ve only gotten about 4,000 calls.”

In order to push back against what they see as a campaign of misinformation being spread about the bill, negotiators are hoping to use the next several days to tilt the public debate in their favor. Feinstein and Kyl announced Tuesday that members of the bipartisan group would hold daily press briefings, and Democratic and Republican aides have been holding daily briefings on the bill for reporters.

Similarly, Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy (Mass.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.) Tuesday met with a group of Hispanic Christian evangelical radio broadcasters to brief them on the bill.

Supporters also are working to win over their colleagues before they return home. Salazar gave an impassioned speech about the issue during the Democrats’ weekly luncheon Tuesday, Kennedy said, in which he made the case that the Senate has a moral responsibility to address illegal immigration.

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) helped brief Republican Senators during their luncheon and said the session went well. “I was very gratified by some of the comments,” Martinez said, adding, “the mood was positive.” Senate Republicans are scheduled to meet this morning to discuss the legislation.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) also briefed House Republicans on the bill’s provisions, although Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) — an opponent of the deal — also presented what he sees as flaws in the bill.

Martinez acknowledged that supporters will need to fight what he sees as misunderstandings of the bill’s inner workings and that the recess may give them the time to educate members and the public. “With the amount of misinformation out there, it may be helpful for the right information, the things that are in the bill, to be known,” he said.

“I think there has been a lot of misinformation that I hope will be corrected in the days to come,” Martinez added.

But aides on both sides of the aisle privately said it was unclear whether Members could successfully explain the bill during the recess given the amount of opposition to the deal. One senior Democratic aide said enough lawmakers either oppose the bill or are on the fence that opponents could easily put together a coalition of left- and right-leaning Members large enough to block the bill in the Senate, particularly if Members are bombarded with negative comments and hostility from constituents next week.

Aside from the business community, virtually all outside interest groups have expressed some level of opposition to the agreement. The AFL-CIO is working through its locals with immigrants’ rights groups and other labor organizations on protests for next week in Chicago and other major cities, and pro-immigrant activists said marches, meetings and other events are expected next week.

Cecilia Muñoz of the National Council of La Raza said while no plans had been formalized, her organization and local groups were planning to use the recess to pressure lawmakers. “I think you will see a variety of things from town hall meetings to vigils to calls and individual meetings as well. But, yes, I think that you can expect the activity around the country to be vigorous over the break ... we do know that local organizations around the country are mobilizing very forcefully around these issues and I think you can expect quite a bit of activity,” Muñoz said.

Jamie Weinstein contributed to this report.



******************
Larisa Casillas
Director
Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition (BAIRC)
310 Eighth Street, Suite 303
Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 839-7598
Fax: (510) 465-1885
http://www.immigrantrights.org