Gutierrez’s immigration reform bill to be introduced next Tuesday
By Steve Taylor

Rio Grande Guardian

Congressman Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, visited the Rio Grande Valley earlier this year with his Familias Unidas/Family Unity campaign.

MERCEDES, Dec. 11 – Congressman Luis Gutierrez’s eagerly awaited comprehensive immigration reform bill will be introduced next Tuesday.

The news was immediately welcome by Rio Grande Valley immigrants’ rights group La Unión del Pueblo Entero, which holds a meeting on the issue in Mercedes this evening.

“We are pleased and encouraged to hear that Congressman Gutierrez will be introducing his Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill next week. The people of South Texas know how important immigration reform is and they have been working for comprehensive reform for almost a decade,” said LUPE Director Juanita Valdez-Cox.

Last month, dozens of LUPE members assembled in Alton, Las Milpas, Mercedes and San Juan to participate in a nationwide teleconference with Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois.

Gutierrez is calling his bill the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009.

“We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President. The time for waiting is over,” Gutierrez said. “This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year.”

Gutierrez, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force, said the bill is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress.

“It is an answer to too many years of pain – mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border – all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system,” Gutierrez said. “This bill says ‘enough,’ and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of.”

U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, said he stands with Gutierrez in support of immigration reform.

“I stand with my colleagues who support Rep. Luis Guitierrez’s immigration reform bill. We have been waiting for this legislation for years and we think our new proposal builds on good ideas that have already been discussed. We are also hoping for a bi-partisan agreement but we do expect some changes as the discussion progresses. I do believe this is a great starting point to get the issue of immigration resolved by next year,” said Hinojosa.

Valdez-Cox said LUPE members are eager to start work in support of Gutierrez’s bill.

“Congressman Gutierrez has been our champion in this struggle for years, and we urge all of Congress to follow his courageous example. We know this is just the first step in an incredibly long journey, but the journey cannot begin until that first step is taken,” Valdez-Cox said.

“We have all been very patient for many, many years, and finally the time is come for action.”

Valdez-Cox said LUPE members realize that the impact of immigration reform is not limited to the Latino community. “Hundreds of thousands of European, African, Asian, and South Asian immigrants’ lives will be forever changed when Congress finally addresses the hopelessly broken immigration system,” she said.

Gutierrez’s bill will be introduced in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington at 12.30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. Gutierrez is expected to be joined by members of many different faiths and backgrounds when he introduces the bill, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus and Progressive Caucus.

Earlier this year, Gutierrez traveled the country with his Familias Unidas/Family Unity campaign to build support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill. He took the “horror stories” he gathered about families being “torn apart” by ICE workplace raids to President Obama. The tour included a rally at Iglesia del Pueblo in Mission in March. U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Hinojosa participated in the rally.

Valdez-Cox was one of 11 community activists from the Valley who met with Gutierrez in Washington, D.C., in October. They rallied west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, demanding change to the nation’s “broken” immigration system.

“We need smart, sensible, American solutions to the issues facing our communities, and that includes immigrants,” Valdez-Cox said at the time. “We take citizenship very seriously and want to help move our nation toward a future where the contributions of every sector of our society are appreciated.”

At the Capitol rally, Gutierrez identified what he believes are the most essential components of a comprehensive immigration reform bill:

• A path to earned legal status and eventual citizenship for the current undocumented immigrant population.
• Programs that keep American families together.
• Allocation of sufficient visas to close unlawful migration channels.
• Labor rights guarantees for immigrant and native-born workers.
• Enforcement measures that enhance our nation’s security and safety while reflecting American values.
• A commitment to assisting immigrant integration.
• Protection of fundamental rights for all people

“We simply cannot wait any longer for a bill that keeps our families together, protects our workers and allows a pathway to legalization for those who have earned it,” Gutierrez said at the rally. “It is time we had a workable plan making its way through Congress that recognizes the vast contributions of immigrants to this country and that honors the American Dream.  I am preparing such a plan, and will introduce it in the near future.”

At its Mercedes office on Friday evening, LUPE members will make a call for businesses, the health and education professions, and churches to join their efforts to secure comprehensive immigration reform across the Rio Grande Valley. The address of the Mercedes office is 1225 N. FM491, Mercedes.

“Immigration issues affect not only the undocumented but the whole community,” said LUPE Director Juanita Valdez-Cox, explaining that her group needs voices from all sectors of society in order to help get comprehensive immigration passed by Congress.

“We expect the Rio Grande Valley economy will improve significantly when comprehensive immigration reform is finally enacted,” Valdez-Cox said.

“Local businesses will benefit from reform, so local business people should be making their voices heard. The same goes for city leaders, county government, and even schools. All of the community will benefit from immigration reform. But making that happen will require a very broad cross section of our community to speak out and demand action.”

Valdez-Cox gave her definition of comprehensive immigration reform. She said it must include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the ability of immigrants to live without fear of raids and deportations by Immigration Customs and Enforcement, and allow immigrants to be reunited with their families.

LUPE is a member of the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance. Its five objectives are:

* Connect Texas communities to each other to share struggles, hopes, and successes.
* Share strategies and resources to educate Texans on comprehensive immigration reform.
* Build capacity within the immigrant community to engage in the immigration reform debate.
* Impact the national discussion on comprehensive immigration reform.
* Educate the Texas congressional delegation on the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance principles for comprehensive immigration reform.

Martha Sanchez, a LUPE community activist from Mission, said she hope members of the Texas congressional delegation will join Gutierrez and the CHC in making the passage of an immigration bill a top priority.

“It will take leadership and a sense of urgency. Rep. Gutierrez and the CHC had the courage to stand up and tell the stories of our separated families at a time when people weren’t listening. Now they are stepping up to the plate again to get things moving in Congress around an immigration reform bill,” Sanchez said.