Immigration reform: Will we see it in 2013? That’s the burning question on everyone’s mind this year.
A complicated debate and legislative process lie ahead. Here to decipher the headlines for you every Monday is THE UPDATE, a weekly blog series whose panel of experts will analyze how recent events affect the prospects for real reform. The panelists will offer an insider’s view of what’s happening right now on Capitol Hill, bolstered by their decades of experience with immigration reform and the legislative process.
Media representatives who wish to speak with one of the panelists, please click here. If you would like to read previous editions of THE UPDATE, please click here. You can also read “Reforma migratoria de 2013: “LA ACTUALIZACIÓN” para el lunes 11 de noviembre.”
Given the most recent developments, are we getting any closer to immigration reform? Here’s what the panelists have to say:
Bishop Julian Gordy, Immigration Ready Bench, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
As the legislative days remaining in 2013 tick away, advocates are escalating their demands for the House to move immigration reform forward. These outspoken reformers come from unexpected places: corporate boardrooms, university campuses, and increasingly, houses of worship. They come because the pain of the migrants and refugees they live, work, and pray with are living in pain and in fear. They come because the way our laws operate now is tearing families apart. They will continue to come until our lawmakers reform our immigration system and create a process that offers mercy, justice, and dignity for all. As Sister JoAnn Persch from Chicago described her advocacy on behalf of immigrants to a reporter this week, “What we do, we do peacefully and respectfully, but we never take no for an answer.”
Brittney Nystrom, LIRS Director for Advocacy, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
This week, a confluence of events from all over the political spectrum kept immigration reform in the public discourse. The gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia renewed discussion of the shifting demographics of the electorate, especially the growing numbers of Latino and Asian voters. President Obama and business leaders from international corporations such as McDonald’s and Marriott International convened at the White House in an effort to keep the heat on members of the House of Representatives considering reforms to the immigration laws. From the left, the AFL-CIO announced a major ad buy targeting conservative lawmakers who are blocking reform Business leaders, unions, the President, and the pundits all continue to focus on immigration reform, illustrating how this issue remains ahead of us rather than behind us.
THE UPDATE will appear every Monday until the dust settles on the legislative battle over comprehensive immigration reform. If you wish to raise your voice for fair reform, please visit our Action Center. You can also learn more about the issues by reading two interviews with someone personally impacted by America’s broken immigration system, Jessica Colotl. Also, don’t forget that you can subscribe to this blog by adding your email address to the box at the top left of this page!