People are angry and disappointed that there hasn’t been significant change in immigration policy and this frustration was clear in people’s voices, signs and calls for reform at the convention. But more powerful was the general sense of urgency for the need to take action and the determination for change. That’s why more than 700 Texans came together in Austin to rally on Saturday for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). Hundreds signed onto a letter urging President Obama to use his leadership and work with Congress to pass CIR that would unify families, respect civil liberties and human rights, and end the raids & deportations. The goal is to get 50,000 signatures on the letter, which will be delivered to the White House during the immigration reform march that’s being put together by RI4A.
Families testified about the unjust separation of families due to deportation & detention. Community organizations and advocates voiced their concerns about the erosion of due process, workers’ rights and basic human rights in the current immigration system. Police officers discussed the troubling 287(g) program and why they have refused to take part. Students spoke out the lack of affordability and access to higher education for undocumented immigrants. Keynote speaker, Ali Noorani, put the fight for immigration reform in a national context:
About 100 community members from the Valley attended the event as part of the Equal Voice Network, a coalition of groups working for immigration reform, along with housing, economic, education & worker justice:
The message from Texas is clear: COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM NOW! It’s good for the economy, good for security and good for families!
Inmigrantes de Austin se reúnen para exigir reforma
(Jay Janner, ¡ahora sí!) Lizbeth Salazar en el Capitolio el 1 de mayo, 2009.
El objetivo de la Convención en Austin es llegar a un mensaje y objetivos comunes para presentarlo en Washington.
Tania Lara, ¡ahora sí!
Si estás interesado en que el Congreso de Estados Unidos apruebe una reforma a las leyes de inmigración, el sábado 20 de febrero es tu oportunidad para exigir ese cambio en la Convención de Texas por la Integración del Inmigrante.
Este llamado por una reforma reunirá a más de 500 personas de todas las ciudades de Texas que luchan por una reforma al sistema de inmigración que beneficie la economía, la seguridad y a las familias del estado.
“Es un evento sin precedentes porque no sólo confluyen organizaciones a favor de los inmigrantes así como las familias inmigrantes, sino también representantes de negocios, sindicatos, funcionarios electos, académicos y autoridades”, explica Fernando García, fundador de la Alianza de Texas por la Reforma de Inmigración (RITA) y director ejecutivo de la Red Fronteriza por los Derechos Humanos.
Los organizadores recomiendan que las familias que anhelan un cambio en la reforma de inmigración, acudan a la Convención vestidos de blanco y con banderas de Estados Unidos y de Texas.
“Si no participamos, lo más seguro es que no pase nada”, dice García y agrega: “En Estados Unidos, las cosas suceden conforme la gente lo demanda y la única forma en que Washington lo entienda, es que la gente participe”.
El objetivo de la Convención, explica García, es llegar a un mensaje y objetivos comunes para presentarlo en Washington, debido a que Texas es el segundo estado con más inmigrantes, el de mayor extensión en la frontera y el que tiene más relaciones económicas y diplomáticas con México.
Group to educate on comprehensive immigration reform
2/17/2010 5:28 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
A group hoping to see comprehensive immigration reform pass this year has asked others to join them in calling on national and state leaders to tackle the issue.
Caroline Keating-Guerra of the Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition knows that getting immigration reform passed is possible.
“We want to show there is and we do have the power to bring in the votes to make sure this is passed and we can bring votes from Texas, our Texas Congress people,” Keating-Guerra said.
About 1,000 Texans, including business, religious and elected leaders, as well as immigrants, will meet Saturday in Austin to gain support and educate people about comprehensive immigration reform.
Mike Seifert, the Equal Voice for America’s Families coordinator in the Rio Grande Valley, asked for a moment of silence Saturday for those who have died crossing the U.S.-Mexican border.
AUSTIN, Feb. 21 – Rio Grande Valley community groups are to mount a postcard campaign to try to persuade U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn to back comprehensive immigration reform.
Details of the campaign, which will be spearheaded by the Equal Voice for America’s Families network, were announced at a major pro-immigration reform rally held in Austin on Saturday. More than 100 Valley residents attended the event.
“We are going to mount our postcard campaign as soon as our Cesar Chavez march is over on the 27th of this month,” said Martha Sanchez, a community activist with La Unión del Pueblo Entero.
“We know Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison are not supporting comprehensive immigration reform at this point. We need them to listen to the people of the Rio Grande Valley.”
Sanchez said thousands of Valley families are negatively impacted by the nation’s current immigration laws.
“A lot of our families are suffering right now because of our broken immigration system,” Sanchez said. “We want to have a strong America. We need to keep our families together.”
LUPE is a member of the Equal Voice network. Other groups in the network include Proyecto Azteca, Proyecto Juan Diego, Project ARISE, the START Center, SCAN, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, the Brownsville Community Health Center, and the Southwest Workers’ Union.
Mike Seifert, the Equal Voice coordinator in the Valley, referenced Cornyn and Hutchison in his speech at the Austin rally. In an interview with the Guardian afterwards, Seifert said there is a huge contrast between the policy position of the Valley’s delegation in the U.S. House, namely Reps. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and the two U.S. senators that represent the region.
“The congressmen know our position and support us on immigration reform. But, the two senators represent us also and they need to work for us. They once again need to be reminded of that. The purpose of the postcard campaign is to say, here we are and we are serious about this,” Seifert said.
The rally in Austin was held at the Travis County Expo Center and was attended by more than 700 people. It was organized by the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance and titled the “Texas Convention on Immigration Reform.
The purpose of the event, said Project ARISE Director Ramona Casas, was to send a “clear message” to President Obama and Texas senators and representatives that families, businesses and communities across the state cannot wait any longer for the federal government to fix the broken immigration system.
“This was an important convention for ARISE to be involved in because it allowed us to share the stories of the immigration community in the Rio Grande Valley,” Casas said. “We wanted to share our testimonies and let the legislators know that we need immigration reform now.”
Casas confirmed that Project ARISE will be part of the Cornyn-Hutchison postcard campaign. “We will not be quiet about this. We want immigration reform right now,” she said.
Two Valley residents who shared their stories on how the current immigration system can wreck family life were Alicia De Zavala from Edinburg and Laura Madrid from Port Isabel.
“I am a U.S. citizen with three jobs and I have just started my own painting and remodeling business with my husband, Margarito,” De Zavala explained. “However, my husband is from Mexico and does not have his documents. If I lose him, what am I going to do? He is a very good man. Why take the good men? Take the narcotraficantes people.”
In his speech, Seifert asked for a moment of silence for those who have died crossing the Chihuahuan Desert and the Rio Grande in order to get to the United States.
“Why did these people die? Because we do not have a way of facilitating immigration. We want the labor but we do not seem to want to do the right thing by them. It is unconscionable,” Seifert said later.
Seifert pointed out that more than 3,000 people have died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since 1996. He contrasted this number to the 221 people who died attempting to cross the Berlin Wall in the 43 years it stood. “That is a conservative figure. We do not know how many people have died in the desert. It could be 4,000, 5,000, 6,000. It is a tragedy and a travesty at the same time,” he said.
Other speakers at the rally included Ali Noorani, director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C., Sam Guzman, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, Eliseo Medina, vice president of the Service Employees International Union.
‘Reforma migratoria generaría al país 1.3 trillones de dólares’
Héctor Manuel Castro/Enviado
El Diario de El Paso
Austin— Con argumentos de orden económico, social y familiar, decenas de activistas texanos exigieron en esta capital el cumplimiento de la promesa de Reforma Migratoria Justa que hiciera Barack Obama en su campaña presidencial.
“Si legalizaran justamente a todos los que ya están aquí, se generarían 1.3 trillones de dólares en el lapso de 5 años, ya que nadie tendría miedo de invertir en este país”, aseguró en su alocución Alfredo Castañeda, del Movimiento Mexicanos Unidos por Dallas.
El líder social añadió que mientras Japón, China y la Comunidad Económica Europea se concentran en fortalecer sus comunidades, Estados Unidos enfoca sus leyes migratorias en la división de familias que pudieran ser la solución a la crisis económica actual.
Consignas como ‘Si se puede’, ‘Se ve, se siente, la lucha está presente’, y ‘Pueblo que lucha, triunfa’, fueron evocadas por los cientos de participantes, quienes no se cansaron de exigir derechos para los más de 12 millones de indocumentados que viven actualmente en los Estados Unidos.
Delegaciones de Houston, Dallas, El Paso, San Elizario, Austin, Fort Worth y el Valle de Río Grande participaron ayer la Convención Estatal de Texas de organismos sociales a favor de la Reforma Migratoria.
Empero, la cumbre estuvo marcada por la falta de compromiso por parte del poder legislativo de Texas, ya que varios representantes estatales que supuestamente participarían, cancelaron a última hora, dejando a un auditorio sumido en la incertidumbre.
“Nuestras comunidad está llena de buenos deseos y de ganas de esta reforma migratoria, pero aquellos que realmente pueden generar un cambio, nos defraudan con su carencia de compromiso”, manifestó Olga María Ruiz, residente de El Paso, al enterarse que Norma Chávez, Joseph Moody y Marissa Márquez, representantes estatales por El Paso, habían cancelado su participación en el último momento.
Richard Wiles, alguacil de El Paso, dijo que él personalmente había llamado telefónicamente a Marissa Márquez para saber si asistiría, pero ésta dijo que no podía, pero que había enviado algún dinero para colaborar con la causa.
“No es justo que estas personas, que supuestamente nos representan, no asistan en los momentos que más los necesitamos, y piensen que con dinero pueden suplantar su ausencia”, añadió Ruiz.
Durante la Convención, uno de los temas que sobresalió fue el de la separación de las familias como consecuencia de la deportación de padres de familia, destacándose el caso de Laura Madrid, una madre que reside en Puerto Isabel (Texas), y quien dijo llorando que su único pecado fue querer un mejor futuro para sus hijos.
Laura al igual que su esposo, entraron a Estados Unidos sin documentación legal, y debido a eso, su pareja fue deportada hace dos años, dejando a sus hijos sin una figura paternal que los apoyaba económicamente.
“Ahora me da terror salir a la calle. Cada vez que voy con mis hijos al mercado, a una tienda, a un parque, creo que me van a arrestar y separar de mi familia”, argumentó.
De la misma manera, Alicia Zabala, del Valle Río Grande, recalcó su enojo y frustración al saber que existen miles de familias que no pueden estar reunidas por la arbitrariedad de las leyes migratorias.
“No somos criminales, somos personas honestas que trabajamos muy duro día a día para subsistir en este país. No merecemos sufrir de la forma en que lo hacemos por carecer de documentos”, indicó.
Zabala también señaló que todos los días siente miedo de que su esposo sea arrestado y deportado.
“¿Qué va a pasar con mis hijos el día que su padre sea separado del hogar?”, dijo sollozando.
Durante la reunión, los asistentes firmaron una petición especial dirigida a Barack Obama, en la que se manifiesta la importancia de la comunidad hispana en la vida económica de Estados Unidos, y la necesidad de una reforma migratoria integral.
“Nuestro sistema migratorio está quebrado, y es el momento de generar un cambio que beneficie a todos en general”, indica la misiva al presidente.
“Si el gobierno de Obama continúa separando las familias de inmigrantes indocumentados, tarde o temprano habrá consecuencias nefastas políticas, sociales y económicas en Estados Unidos”, indicó.
At a time when Congress generates headlines for partisan gridlock and a perceived inability to get things done, and with immigration reform long the third rail of politics, the cards would seem to be stacked against passing laws to create avenues for millions of unauthorized immigrants to gain legal U.S. status.
But as organizers gather in Austin today for a statewide convention urging passage of federal immigration legislation this year, they say they are hopeful and more united than ever. A sign of that unity, they say, is the creation of the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, the sponsor of today’s Texas Convention for Immigrant Integration: A Call for Reform. Organizers expect 1,000 people, including religious, business, labor, political and community leaders, to attend the conference at the Travis County Exposition Center.
“We do believe this is a bipartisan issue, and we think we can get support from Republicans and Democrats,” said Caroline Keating-Guerra (Photo), coordinator of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition, which joined organizations from across Texas to form the alliance last August.
In 2006, the Austin coalition helped mobilize thousands to march for new laws to legalize millions of unauthorized immigrants who are already in the country. Millions of people took to the streets in similar demonstrations across the country.
Another Austin coalition member, Antolin Aguirre, said supporters plan to hold President Barack Obama to his promise to achieve immigration reform. “We are the voters who helped get him elected,” Aguirre said.
The president campaigned on a pledge to make immigration reform a priority during his first year in office, but the health care debate dominated Congress’ attention. Inaction has rankled reform advocates, who were disappointed further when Obama devoted just one sentence to immigration in his State of the Union address. Meanwhile, the increased immigration enforcement begun by the Bush administration continues.
Keating-Guerra said advocates are hopeful that a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. — the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act — can gain traction. The bill would legalize unauthorized immigrants who register with the government, pass a criminal background check, pay a fine, provide proof they have paid taxes and learn English and U.S. civics.
Reform advocates have reason to be hopeful because Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are negotiating a bipartisan bill in the Senate, said Frank Sharry, director of America’s Voice, a Washington-based group that also supports reforms.
A recent poll conducted for the American-Statesman and other major newspapers found most Texas voters favor legal channels that would allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country, either through a path to citizenship or work visas. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said illegal immigrants should be deported.
Organizers of today’s convention say they support reforms that, along with legalizing millions of workers, would protect immigrant families and integrate them into society, implement humane border and interior enforcement, and provide for long-term solutions for immigrant flows. Attendees are encouraged to bring pictures of their family members affected by current immigration laws to place on a wall.
MORE THAN 700 TEXANS GATHER TO ASK FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
Diverse sectors of Texas represented in state-wide convention in Austin
Austin, TX – More than 700 community members, advocates, business leaders, people of faith, and elected officials gathered today (February 20, 1-5 p.m.) at the Texas Convention for Immigrant Integration at the Travis County Expo Center in Austin to support comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. Participants sought to send a clear message to President Obama and to Texas Senators and Representatives that families, businesses, and communities across Texas cannot wait any longer for the federal government to fix the broken immigration system. Delaying action is bad for the nation and it’s bad for Texas.
Participants agreed to continue their efforts past the convention with a campaign to gather 50,000 signatures on a letter to President Obama urging him to take up immigration reform this year. Today, in a convention center decorated with photographs of loved ones that audience members had pinned on walls, speakers from all backgrounds shared their views that immigration reform is good for the economy, for security, and for families.
Eliseo Medina, Executive Vice-President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU,) said, “We need an immigration system that works for America’s workers. For too long, our nation’s immigration system has fueled discrimination and exploitation of workers. It has driven down wages and working conditions. And it has failed to live up to our nation’s values. We now have an opportunity to change course. That is why Change to Win and the AFL-CIO have come together to create a unified labor framework for immigration reform that addresses the needs of our nation’s workers, families and communities. This framework is about moving America forward. We are a nation that respects hard work, family and the pursuit of the American Dream. Our immigration system must hold true to these principles.”
El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles said he is one of many law enforcement officials who are opposed to the practice of deputizing local police officers to serve as immigration agents and hope immigration reform puts an end to it. “Having local law enforcement enforcing immigration law tears down the trust and respect we need to keep the community safe. As for immigration reform, I’d like to see it come to a resolution,” he said.
Pastor Lynn Godsey, President of the Hispanic Evangelical Alliance of Dallas-Fort Worth, said, “Not only does the Constitution of the United States uphold the protection of an individual’s civil liberties and human rights, but God has much to say about the treatment of the sojourner in the Bible. As people of faith, we are called to ground our conduct and treatment of others in what God has revealed through scripture, in and through his Son, Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, we are instructed to ‘not mistreat the foreigner, for at one time we too were such.’ In the New Testament, Jesus took it to another level in stating that we love our neighbor and provide for his or her needs, for He said: “I was a stranger (foreigner) and you invited me in”. As such, our views on immigration are to be grounded and reared inBiblical Revelation. It is a call from Christ to all of us that are His followers to treat the alien, the stranger the immigrant with fairness, justice and hospitality.”
Attendees also heard the personal stories of regular people who were personally affected by bad immigration policies. Amelia Hernandez said she was taking care of her three nephews because their parents were deported. “They don’t know the damage they cause to children, separating them from their parents. My nephews can’t fall asleep; they cry all the time; they don’t want to eat. They want to be with their parents and they feel abandoned. Because of this, I think legalization should be a priority for the president and his administration.”
College students who support the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow undocumented youth to adjust their status so they can attend college, also had their say. Among them was Zelene Pineda who came to the U.S. with her parents when she was 8 years old. Undocumented children do not qualify for many of the scholarships that other students take for granted and often struggle to pay tuition. “The situation for undocumented students on the border is even more limiting,” Pineda, who lives in El Paso, said. “You’d have to pass Border Patrol checkpoints to go to school in San Antonio, for instance, so you don’t go there. You see Mexico (from El Paso), but you can’t go there. The foreign students from Mexico have benefits like in-state-tuition. But even though you are in the country, you have to pay more. On the border, you are constantly reminded of your immigration status.”
Other notable speakers included Ali Noorani, Director, National Immigration Forum, Reform Immigration for America Campaign; Pastor Mark Gonzalez, Vice President, Governmental Affairs, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC); Sam Guzman, President/CEO, Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC); andSate Rep. Carol Alvarado.
Adriana Cadena, Coordinator, Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, El Paso
Caroline Keating-Guerra, Coordinator, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition, Austin
1:10 p.m. Invocation
1:15 p.m. Family Reunification
It is about Families, It is about Texas
(Moderator: Marta Sanchez, La Union del Pueblo Entero, San Juan)
Testimonies of Texas immigrant families.
1:30 p.m. Civil Right, Human Rights, American Values
The Road of Faith, the Welcoming of Immigrants
(Moderator: Lori Stafford, Welcome Immigrants Network, Dallas)
Kim Kamen, Regional Director, American Jewish Committee, Dallas
Pastor Lynn Godsey, President, The Hispanic Evangelical Alliance of DFW; Texas Director, Esperanza para America Campaign, Dallas-FortWorth
Rev. Stephen Jasso, All Saints Catholic Church, Fort Worth
Pastor Omar Chavarria, La Iglesia Bautista Manantial de Vida, Penitas
Pastor Jaime Mathias, Cristo Rey Parish, Austin
1:50 p.m. Pathway for Citizenship
The Organized Voice in Texas.
(Moderator: Douglas Interiano, Coalition for Immigration Reform, Fort Worth)
Testimonies of RITA members and other organizations in Texas.
Paul Parsons, Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Austin
2:20 p.m. Future Flows
PANEL: Immigrants and Economic Recovery
(Moderator: Louie Gilot, Border Network for Human Rights, El Paso)
J. Carnes, President and owner, Winter Garden Produce, Uvalde
Sam Guzman, Vice-chair, Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, Austin
Marc Levin, Director, Center for Effective Justice, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Austin
Eliseo Medina, Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union, Houston
2:50 p.m. Accountable Border Enforcement
SPEAKER: Border Security and Immigration Reform.
Mayor Chad Foster of Eagle Pass
3:00 p.m. Community Security
We are Part of the Solution: Community Security, National Security and Immigration Reform.
(Moderator: Fernando Garcia, Border Network for Human Rights, El Paso)
Sheriff Richard Wiles, El Paso County
Officer Daniel Segura, Fort Worth Police Department
Chief Art Acevedo, Austin Police Department (Pending)
Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Harris County (Pending)
(Youth theater)
3:25 p.m. Immigrant Integration
PANEL: Dream Act
Our Country, Our Future: Access to Education to Immigrant Students.
(Moderator: Julieta Garibay, Director, DREAM Campaign, University of Texas, Dallas)
Zelene Pineda, Founder, Jovenes Fronterizos por un Mismo Sueño, El Paso
Jose Torres, President, University Leadership Initiative, University of Texas, and LULAC member, Austin
Kemi Bello, Leader, Texas Dream Act Alliance, Houston
Jose Magaña, law student, DREAM Act activist, Waco
Teri Alberch –UT Administrator, Austin (Pending)
Voter Engagement
Speaker: Pastor Mark Gonzalez, Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (HCFCIR) and Vice President, Governmental Affairs, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC)
Poetry by Luis Gutierrez
3:55 p.m. Texas and Immigration Reform
Elected Officials for Immigration Reform
(Moderator: Adriana Cadena, Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance)
State Rep. Norma Chavez, El Paso
State Rep. Joseph Moody, El Paso
State Rep. Marissa Marquez, El Paso
State Rep. Elliot Naishtat, Austin
State Rep. Carol Alvarado, Houston
Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gomez, Austin
Mayor Trini Lopez, City of Socorro
4:30 p.m. Key Note Speaker:
Ali Noorani, Director, National Immigration Forum, Reform Immigration for America Campaign, Washington, D.C.
5:00 p.m. Closing
Caroline Keating-Guerra, Coordinator, Austin Immigrants Rights Coalition, Austin
Testimonies of Texas immigrant families; their successes as well as the impact of immigration policies on their lives.
1:30 p.m. Civil Right, Human Rights, Values
The Road of Faith, the Welcoming of Immigrants
Testimonies off faith-based institutions.
1:50 p.m. Pathway for Citizenship
The Organized Voice in Texas.
Testimonies of RITA members and other organizations in Texas calling for immigration reform.
2:20 p.m. Future Flows
PANEL: Immigrants and Economic Recovery
Testimonies of business owners and union members in Texas about the contributions of immigrants to the Texas economy and to the national economy, and about the economic benefits of immigration reform.
2:50 p.m. Accountable Border Enforcement
SPEAKER: Border Security and Immigration Reform.
3:00 p.m. Community Security
We are Part of the Solution: Community Security, National Security and Immigration Reform.
Testimonies of law enforcement officials.
3:25 p.m. Immigrant Integration
Our Country, Our Future: Access to Education to Immigrant Students.
Testimonies from students and professors about the impact of immigrations laws on education.
EDINBURG — Hidalgo County commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday recognizing the contributions of immigrants to the Rio Grande Valley and offering their support to comprehensive immigration reform efforts.
Citing the $400 million that immigrants contribute to the state’s economy, the resolution calls for change to immigration policies that cause “great anguish to county residents who daily experience the tragedy of families divided by ineffective laws.”
The resolution was approved in advance of a state convention by the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance where the group will ask Congress to pass legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented residents, creates safer communities along the border and establishes a new workers’ program.
The Valley’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives has backed an immigration reform bill introduced in December that is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi.
Commissioner Sylvia Handy, who presented the resolution to the commissioners’ court, said counties along the border with Mexico are affected the most by the nation’s current immigration laws.
After Hurricane Dolly, many residents who have lived here for years were unable to receive aid when their homes were damaged, she said.
“They have nowhere else to turn,” she said. “It breaks our hearts that we can’t do anything because we have our hands tied.”
El Paso, Harris, Cameron and other counties were asked by the alliance to consider similar resolutions, said Javier Parra, a community organizer with La Union del Pueblo Entero, a member of the alliance. The resolutions show support of the county’s chief elected officials to citizens’ efforts to obtain immigration reform.
Parra said the resolutions will be presented to the state’s delegation to Congress to encourage them to act on immigration reform this year.
Sergio Narvaez, a 61-year-old Alton man, said immigration reform would prevent abuses to illegal immigrants while giving them the chance to become legal residents.
Narvaez came to the United States three decades ago to work in the oil fields, he said. After 33 years in the country, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2008.
“People should have the same opportunity that I had,” Narvaez said. “The world belongs to everyone.”
Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.
Gran Foro Comunitario Pro Reforma Migratoria en West
Domingo 16 de Mayo del 2010
Santa María de la Asunción
Salón San José
301 South Harrison St.
West, Texas 76691
6:00pm - 7:00pm
254-205-7203 o 254-349-3040
(Jay Janner, 
