Immigration Reform Fight Moves into August Recess

After a sit-in at GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s office, CWAers left signs calling on the congressman to "keep your promise."

Below: CCI member talks to GOP Rep. Tom Latham.

Immigration reform advocates aren't taking an August recess. Across the country, CWA activists and partners are flooding town halls, meeting with their members of Congress and holding rallies to support a comprehensive bill with a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrations.

Even before Congress left for its August recess, CWAers and other activists held a sit-in at Rep. Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) office. The demonstrators stayed about four hours, then left some reminders for the congressman and his staff. Posters called on McCarthy to "keep your promise" and asked "where's our meeting." Rob England of CWA Local 9416 said more actions are planned for McCarthy's district office next week.

Also in California, more than 150 actions are in the works targeting House Republican leaders and members, including Majority Whip McCarthy and Reps. Paul Cook, Jeff Denham, Buck McKeon, Gary Miller and Darrell Issa. At the "Countdown to Citizenship" campaign launch in Los Angeles on Tuesday, AFL-CIO's Maria Elena Durazo joined Mayor Eric Garcetti and more than 100 community organizations and leaders from the faith, labor, LGBT, student, civic engagement, business, and immigrant rights sectors to say, "Let us have a vote for immigration reform."

In Iowa, more than 50 members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement packed a meeting with Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) to share their stories and demand action on the pathway to citizenship. "After I left the police force in Mexico, I was assaulted because I'd been a cop. That's no way for my family to live, in such violence," said Constantino Morales, a CCI member. "I decided to come here. Soon after, ICE came for me at work and I'm in deportation proceedings now. If I'm sent back, I will face more violence and could lose my life," he told Latham. But when asked if he supported a pathway to citizenship, Latham refused.

In Illinois, GOP Rep. Aaron Schock told his constituents, "I think that at some point, when the border is secured and people pay their taxes and they haven't committed any violations of laws. They have been here for a provisionary period, then they can apply for citizenship."

In Texas, almost 50 immigration reform activists from TexasRITA and other groups gathered at Rep. Blake Farenthold's district office to deliver 10,000 petitions asking him to support immigration reform and a path to citizenship.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's immigration reform group, FWD.us, is bombarding TV airwaves with a six-figure ad buy aimed at on-the-fence members of Congress over the recess. Watch it here. 

A coalition of 39 House Democrats has sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner telling the Republican leader to introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill with a pathway to citizenship by September 30, 2013 or the leading group of moderates in the House of Representatives will advance its own bill to fix to the nation's broken immigration system. The New Democrat Coalition is a group of 53 moderate, pro-growth House Members that's been around since 1997.

"We are frustrated that there was not a bipartisan immigration reform bill introduced prior to the August recess," the letter said, citing broad bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

"From the beginning of this Congress, the New Democrats and I have been optimistic that we can work with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get immigration reform done this year," said New Dem Immigration Task Force Co-Chair Rep. Joaquin Castro. (D-TX) "This is an issue that transcends party, region, industry and affects the totality of the American family. Americans across the nation have spoken up because they know that fixing our broken immigration system not only means that there will be more avenues for innovators to come to our shores, but also that the millions of people coming out of the shadows will boost our economy as consumers and business owners."

Read the letter here.