It's easy to get caught up in the political tug-of-war that plays out in Congress around the immigration issue. Too often, the immigration debate forgets people like Micheline--and the millions of other faces of the men and women whose aspirations and achievements have been clouded by their immigration status.

At SEIU, we're making a renewed effort to put a human face on immigration--and put a face on the SEIU members who are fighting to overhaul our broken immigration system. One of those members is Micheline Charles, a nursing assistant and member of SEIU Healthcare Florida. In this video, Micheline shares her story of migrating to southern Florida from Haiti. In the years since her arrival in this country, Michelle has not just became a U.S. citizen and raised a beautiful family--she's also become a champion labor organizer for her fellow home care colleagues in the Miami area.

Watch her tell her story:

Dear Friend,

This week, the Senate Finance Committee has been debating health care reform and today it will debate a series of mean spirited amendments that require the government to discriminate against lawful immigrants, causing many of them to lose access to affordable health care. 

Can you call your Senator and tell them to oppose these harmful amendments? 

 

Click here to use our click-to-call tool and you will be connected to your senator:

 

http://action.seiu.org/ opposeammendments

 

Once you're connected, tell your Senator that lawful immigrants must have access to affordable health care and that you oppose excessive verification requirements that are unnecessary because they will hurt U.S. citizens and immigrants alike. 

This health care debate is about accessibility and affordability for everyone not unnecessary administrative barriers that keep affordable health care from families. 

Call your senator today and tell them to oppose all harmful amendments that would prevent immigrant

families from getting access to affordable health care.

http://action.seiu.org/opposeammendments  

 

In solidarity, 

 

Joaquin Guerra

SEIU.org 

With less than a week to go before the launch of SEIU's ya es hora !HAGASE CONTAR! campaign for a full count of U.S. Latinos in the 2010 Census, we thought you might want to know why we think this is such a big deal.

The U.S. Census, held every 10 years, is the single most powerful indicator of who we are as a nation. It not only dictates the story we tell about our demographic makeup-but it also determines the allocation of our federal purse string and the seats of our political power.

Among other things, the U.S. Census:

• Determines Congressional reapportionment and political representation in State Legislatures and hundreds of legislative bodies at the local level;
• Decides the allocation of more than $400 billion in Federal funds to communities annually-including funds for Medicaid, voter protection, SCHIP, childcare, early child education, school lunch, ESL, adult education, and other vital services for our community; and
• Serves as the fundamental source of information on our nation's demographic makeup-guiding private and public research projects that influence a broad range of social/policy decisions. For example-the Census results are used to enforce civil rights laws and document discrimination based on race, ethnicity and gender.

Read more about the U.S. Census here.

With less than a week before National Citizenship Day on September 17--ya es hora ¡Ciudadania! (Citizenship: It's Time!), national community partners and the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) announced that more than 25 citizenship events are being held across the country this month to help thousands of eligible immigrants apply for U.S. citizenship. In an effort to support eligible immigrants facing increased economic hurdles, this month's workshops--which will take place in AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, KY, MA, NC, TX and VA--will provide free and low cost legal and administrative support to help eligible immigrants prepare and submit their applications. The workshops begin September 12 and last through the end of the month.

The nationwide citizenship push comes as a hike in the citizenship fee increase and economic recession have contributed to a decrease in naturalization applications. According to an analysis released by NCLR, after the fee to apply for U.S. citizenship jumped from $400 to $675 in 2007, the number of naturalization applications fell by 62 percent in 2008. If you take an even further look back, the fee hike over time much more dramatic: between 1990 and 2007, the cost of the U.S. citizenship process has increased 561 percent, from $91 to $670. For many immigrants, this large sum can equal three weeks to a month of wages.

There are still 8.25 million legal permanent residents who are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship--and we need to take steps to make sure that cost is not what's keeping willing, eligible immigrants from becoming naturalized citizens.

Last night, during President Obama's speech, one Republican Congressman tried to turn a Joint Session of Congress into an August town hall meeting by calling the President a liar.

President Obama: There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false - the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.

Rep. Joe Wilson: You Lie!

The lies and misinformation have to stop.

Can you write a letter to the editor setting the record straight on immigrant access to health care? Click here to start writing your letter:

http://action.seiu.org/immigranlte

It's important that Congress not be divided by distractions. People in the country legally, who work hard and play by the rules, deserve affordable coverage and access to public programs, as they do with children's health insurance program (SCHIP), and subsidies.

Health reform must be inclusive and must end the unfair treatment of immigrants.

And if we're going to pass comprehensive immigration reform, we need to pass health care reform first.

Write a letter to the editor setting the record straight on immigrant access to health care and why we need comprehensive immigration reform.

http://action.seiu.org/immigranlte

For over 40 years, Senator Ted Kennedy was a tireless advocate and voice for immigrant rights. One profound example of his impact can be traced back to the very first piece of legislation he was able to get passed as a Senator: the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This legislation marked a radical break with previous policy and led to far-reaching demographic and societal changes in America by prioritizing family ties and allowing people from all countries around the globe the opportunity to become Americans. Without Sen. Kennedy's legislation, our country would not be the wonderfully diverse melting pot it is today.

On April 10, 2006, Sen. Ted Kennedy joined 200,000 people on the National Mall in Washington, D.C for a rally supporting his plan for comprehensive immigration reform. The "National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice" was a historic gathering that brought together leaders in the labor, business and religious community in an unprecedented way. After being introduced by SEIU Local 32BJ's Jaime Contreras, Sen. Kennedy made a memorable speech to the crowd. Watch it here:

The words Kennedy spoke at this rally still ring true: "It is time for Americans to lift their voices now--in pride for our immigrant past and in pride for our immigrant future." Today, will you lift your voice to share your thoughts on his legacy and remarkable career?

As we mourn the loss of a great leader and defender of of the American dream, let's pay reverence to his memory, which inspires us still. Sign our online card to Senator Kennedy's family.

DREAM activist Walter Lara sent out an update on where things stand with Herta this morning.

At this point, The Department of Homeland Security and ICE, have still not made a decision on Herta's application for deferred action.

Today, at 10:30 am, EST, Herta will present herself to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Detroit - where she will learn if she stays or if she will be deported.

Secretary Janet Napolitano, Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton, and ICE field officer Vincent Clausen need to hear from you - right now.

Click here to write your letter:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta

Already, thousands of people around the country have rallied for Herta, writing letters, asking that she be permitted to remain in the United States.

I know Herta would not want us to let up, in fact she's counting on us not to.

Click here to write your letter:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta

We'll update you again as soon as we learn something new, but in the meantime, keep Herta and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Walter Lara sent the following email out, in support of Herta:

Herta, 19, is being deported to Albania on August 19, 2009. Help us stop her deportation!!

Tomorrow, Herta Llushlo is scheduled to be deported to Albania - her bags are already packed.

You can make sure that doesn't happen.

Can you write in support of Herta Llushlo?

Click here to write your letter to Secretary Napolitano:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta.

While efforts to pass the DREAM Act continue, ask Secretary Napolitano to defer Herta's deportation.

You saw what we were able to do for immigrant students like myself and Taha - now Herta needs our help.

Click here to write your letter to Secretary Napolitano:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta.

---

Join the facebook group for immediate updates.

Read Herta's story after the break.

SEIU is working in conjunction with Dreamactivist.org again to stop the deportation of Herta Llushlo.

Check out her story and then use our click to call tool to call DHS and ask them to defer Herta's deportation.

In the fight for comprehensive immigration reform, the inclusion and passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (also known as the DREAM Act) is paramount to why we need comprehensive immigration reform. The DREAM Act would provide certain immigrant students of good morale character the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency. Immigrant students who came to live in the U.S. as children, have been in the country continuously for at least five years (prior to the bill's enactment) and graduated from a U.S. high school fall into this category.

Herta is one of these students - here is her story:

My name is Herta Llusho, I am 19 years old, and I'm writing this because I'm about to be deported. I was born in Albania and was brought to the United States when I was 11 years old. With the help and support of my family, I have struggled through more than seven years of legal proceedings to find a way to stay in this country legally. Despite our best efforts, on August 19, I will be removed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from the only place I know as my home. I will be sent back to a country that has become a foreign place to me. I don't even speak Albanian well anymore. My only hope of staying here is for as many people as possible to ask DHS to delay my deportation until the DREAM Act is passed.

You saw what we were able to do for immigrant students Walter Lara and Taha Mowla.

Now, Herta needs our help - please use the click-to-call tool now to call DHS and ask them to defer Herta's deportation.

We did it!

Thanks to 24 hours of your calls and faxes, the Department of Homeland Security has done the right thing and deferred action on Taha's deportation.

But we can't stop here--not while 2 million young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children remain at risk for having their lives in this country cut short and dreams deferred.

Not while we are still in the business of stopping one deportation at a time.

As a result of your actions that resulted in DHS's decision to let Taha stay in the U.S., he will be allowed to finish college and continue his dream to become a pediatrician. Please take a few minutes and send Taha a congratulatory message.

SEIU is teaming up with Dreamactivist.org to help stop the deportation of another Dream Act student, Taha.

Like Walter Lara, Taha Mowla was brought to the USA when he was a toddler.

He has lived in Jersey City for more than 16 years.

On July 29, 2009, he will be deported to Bangladesh - a country that he has no memory of or connection to.

If Taha returns to Bangladesh, he will never have the chance to complete the education he has worked so hard all of his life to acquire.

Taha doesn't read or write Bengali. He doesn't even know its alphabet. Moving back there will mean moving to a foreign country where he'll have to start his life again from scratch.

Taha has been educated in America, K - 12. He achieved many awards in high school such as Academic Author Award, Principal's Award, Honor Roll and Merit Wall.

His teachers opened his eyes to so many great opportunities in this country. His dream career is to be a pediatrician, working in a clinic or hospital environment, and giving back to our great country that has given him so much.

Taha has been accepted to St. Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ to study Marketing and Pre-Med.

Picture yourself in Taha's shoes. All that he needs help with is getting permission to continue living in the country he loves and calls home so that he can complete his education--and spend the rest of his life giving back to this country, the only home he can ever remember living in.

Here are 5 ways you can help:

1. Spread the word about Taha's case: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/meettaha

2. Co-sign Sen. Menendez's letter on behalf of Taha: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/menendezltr

3. Call DHS and tell Sec. Napolitano to defer action on Taha's deportation: http://call.seiu.org/9/calldhs

4. Call New Jersey Sens. Menendez, Lautenberg and Congressman Sires and ask them to file a private bill on Taha's behalf. : http://call.seiu.org/9/callcongress4taha

5. Join Taha's Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=233343415360

Note: Athena Jones is an home care worker and Grassroots Lobbyist through SEIU's Change That Works campaign.

Students file in wearing colors mixed like an unsolved Rubik's cube--some wearing chords representing achievement and honors. Friends straighten each other's caps. The rainbow of the march is accompanied by a violin and the pomp and circumstances of cameras flashing. As smiles of achievement shine, each student's hard work and the pride of a family is represented with a cap and gown.

You would not notice or look twice at the needs of these high achievers. Each representing the overtaking of a struggle, brandished with the hopes of the Dream.

Onlookers could never have imagined Tuesday's commencement speech to be anything more than a student talking about bridging gaps to adulthood or hoping for the 10 year reunion. As she began to speak - I'll call her Anna - Anna spoke of her graduating from high school with honors and successfully completing college with a double major in biology and psychology. Her parents spoke to her of the hope, of education and the Dream of what America could be. She was the product of undocumented parents. They brought her here under the cover of a better future when she was eight, and she too was undocumented. Anna began to tell of the hurt she felt towards the only country she knew and the many opportunities lost because she does not have a 9 digit number assigned to her name.

Anna is a high achieving, college-educated student with honors. The U.S. government saw her as an illegal immigrant worthy of nothing better than being deported. Her undocumented status shadowed her amazing credentials. I imagine she never knew, regardless of her academic success, her ultimate diploma would be a letter of deportation.

Remember the infamous factory raid in New Bedford, MA where hundreds of hard-working immigrants were rounded up, detained and separated from their families? Today, a horrible experience of déjà vu as workers at the same factory who make backpacks for the U.S. army face yet another tragedy. Less than three months after purchasing Eagle Industries, the new owner--Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems--is pushing to shut the factory's doors and move the work.

Washington, DC --Today, with the U.S. Capitol's Statue of Freedom reaching to the sky behind them, more than 500 students from across the country took part in a symbolic graduation ceremony to urge Congress to support our nation's future leaders by passing the DREAM Act. The National DREAM Graduation ceremony was hosted by labor organizations like SEIU, education, faith, business, immigrant and civil rights groups through the United We Dream Coalition.

"SEIU congratulates these brave valedictorians, honor students, class presidents and future leaders who have come to Washington seeking reason and compassion so they can achieve their dreams," said SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina. "These high-achieving students want nothing more than the opportunity to serve their country and build a stronger America. It's time to open the doors of opportunity and pass the DREAM Act."

"The event highlighted the countless future nurses, leaders, teachers, military heroes and inventors of the next great technological or medical breakthrough who are denied the chance to contribute to building a stronger America because Congress has not passed the DREAM Act. After the ceremony, the students joined other immigration, faith and community leaders to talk one-on-one with members of Congress about the need to pass the DREAM Act this year.

"America became a great country because we gave opportunities to hard working newcomers and those willing to sacrifice for a dream. All these DREAMers ask is to be allowed to make their story part of the American story. SEIU's 2 million members strongly support the DREAM Act because if you work hard you should have the chance to make a difference and make the world a better place," concluded Medina.

The DREAM Act, introduced into the House and Senate on March 26, would correct a flaw in our immigration laws that provide no path to legal status for young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children through no fault of their own. For high school graduates who continue on to college or military service, the DREAM Act would provide a pathway to legal residency.

Remember what it was like when you had a dream? For many immigrant students their dreams of pursuing higher education can't be realized because of their immigration status -- even though they may have lived here most of their lives. Unlike their U.S. born classmates, they can't work legally or qualify for a driver's license or federal financial aid for college, and they are forced to live in constant fear of deportation to a land they barely remember.

On Tuesday, over 500 immigrant students from all over the country are coming to Washington, DC in pursuit of making their dreams come true.

While they are here, they'll be lobbying their Senators and Congressmen to pass the Dream Act, which would allow immigrant students who've grown up here to hope for a better future and a chance at higher education. And to dramatize the contribution they could make -- if only given the chance -- they will hold a graduation ceremony outside of the U.S. Capitol .

Help make their dreams come true by signing their diploma in support of the Dream Act and at the graduation - with your help - I'll unfurl the diploma at the ceremony for the graduates to see our support.

http://action.seiu.org/page/s/dreamactseiu

A disproportionate number of these DREAMers are valedictorians, honor students, class presidents or student leaders, and they include SEIU members and the children of our members.

Their DREAM - passage of the Dream Act -- is a part of the battle for comprehensive reform that our union strongly supports. It will be included in any comprehensive immigration reform that makes it through congress. It also could be enacted on its own, and if that happens, it would be a hopeful signal that comprehensive immigration reform is on its way.

Help make their dreams come true by signing their diploma in support of the Dream Act.

Sign the diploma now!

http://action.seiu.org/page/s/dreamactseiu

This week, SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina is in Mexico City meeting with key legislators and labor leaders on the importance of working together to improve labor rights and economic opportunities for workers on both sides of the border. "In order to build an immigration system that puts an end to the senseless suffering of so many families on both sides of the border, labor, social and political organizations in both countries must work together to build comprehensive reforms that are just and humane," Medina remarked to El Universal during a press conference with key reporters in Mexico City.

In other immigration reform news....

A temporary victory on E-Verify: On Friday two harmful E-Verify amendments were defeated in the House Appropriations committee for the Department of Homeland Security. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) and Rep. Ken Calvart (R-CA) had proposed two separate E-Verify amendments to the House Appropriations bill for FY2010, but both amendments failed. The Kingston amendment would have required government contractors to run all employees and new hires through E-Verify. Rep. Calvart's amendment would have made E-Verify permanent in the House Appropriations bill, but it received resistance from, most notably, Rep. David Price who argued that the E-Verify will be addressed during a larger immigration reform debate.

Bush Rule Bolstering Deportations Is Withdrawn: Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. reversed a Bush administration ruling that had weakened the ability of immigrants facing deportation to argue that their lawyers did a bad job. The original order, issued just days before the inauguration of President Obama, held that immigrants did not have a constitutional right to effective lawyers in their deportation hearings. That 11th-hour decision abruptly closed off one of the most common avenues for appealing deportation decisions.

U.S. Temporarily Suspends Policy of Deporting Widows of Citizens: The Department of Homeland Security said last Tuesday it is temporarily freezing a policy of deporting widows and widowers of U.S. citizens, a sign of the Obama administration's interest in new approaches to immigration. Only a few hundred people were at risk of deportation under the policy, but critics viewed it as one of the most painful consequences of President George W. Bush's immigration crackdown.

This week has been marked by a number of landmark "firsts" in federal immigration law. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened the first-ever hearing on inequality for same-sex couples. Today, Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced the "Reuniting Families Act," marking the first time in Congressional history that same-sex couples have been included as part of a multi-issue immigration bill.

The Reuniting Families Act would allow spouses and children of permanent U.S. residents to more easily obtain visas for their children and spouses. The bill would also permit lawful Americans to sponsor their same-sex partners for residency in the U.S., putting a long-overdue stop to detrimental practices--such as prolonged visa wait times and discrimination against LGBT families--that prevent loving families from being together.

"A strong family often provides the support structure needed to be a strong contributor to society and to pursue the American Dream," said Eliseo Medina after Congressman Honda's introduction of the Reuniting Families Act. "For too many SEIU members and other hard working immigrants, bureaucratic backlogs and wait times keep their families thousands of miles away. This legislation will help reduce illegal immigration through several long-sought improvements to our family-based visa system."

For more, visit http://www.seiu.org/immigration

Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South, a report released today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), surveys a mix of legal residents, undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens in the southeast U.S. and finds Latinos routinely subject to racial profiling, harassment by law enforcement and workplace abuse.

The degree to which workers documented in this report are "under siege and living in fear"--fear of the police, fear of the government and fear of criminals who prey on immigrants because of their vulnerability--is truly eye-opening. A disturbing 41 percent of the Latino immigrants interviewed in numerous Southern cities such as Nashville, Charlotte, New Orleans, rural southern Georgia and northern Alabama had experienced wage theft and were not paid for work performed. Thirty-two percent reported on-the-job injuries and the rate of deaths for Mexican workers in the South was one in 6,200--more than double the national average.

Laws to protect workers from abuse are feeble or nonexistent in most southern states, making it even more challenging for Latinos in the South suffering from wage theft, workplace discrimination or workplace injuries to seek justice and fair treatment.

"Today's report by the SPLC is a remarkable indictment of the prejudice, racial profiling and outright abuse faced by hardworking Hispanics, some of our country's most vulnerable workers," remarks SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina in a statement responding to the SPLC's report examining the abuse of Hispanic workers in the South. "We are judged by how we respond to discrimination of one neighbor by another, so today's report should serve as a wake-up call that these despicable acts will continue until we pass comprehensive immigration reform."

Today, the Change to Win federation and AFL-CIO unions unveiled a unified framework for comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

The proposal endorses legalizing the status of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S., and opposes the adoption of employers' incentive to hire undocumented workers rather than U.S. workers. The accord recognizes that if these immigrants are not given adequate incentive to "come out of the shadows" to adjust their status, our country will continue to have a large pool of unauthorized workers--allowing employers to continue to live above the law and exploit workers in order to drive down wages and working conditions, to the detriment of all workers.

The joint announcement and proposal is a critical sign of support for the Administration and Congress to address immigration reform and to ensure that it remains a priority on the legislative calendar. It is also an important sign that immigration reform is a comprehensive part of economic recovery. In a statement, Eliseo Medina spoke on the need to overhaul our broken immigration system:

As we face the most serious recession since the Great Depression--as healthcare costs skyrocket, income disparity grows, and the middle class continues to shrink--the American public wants fundamental reform of economic and social policies that have benefited the few at the expense of the working majority. Immigration reform is no exception. Today's unified agreement is a major step forward that will, combined with the continued leadership of President Obama, Vice President Biden and bipartisan leadership in Congress, profoundly improve the future of all workers and build a stronger American economy for our children and grandchildren.

The framework for comprehensive reform and a national commission to regulate future immigration was developed with the guidance of former Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Key components of the proposal call for:

• An independent commission to assess and manage the flow of future immigration workers, based on labor market shortages that are determined on the basis of actual need
  
• A secure and effective worker authorization mechanism
  
• Rational operational control of the border
  
• Adjustment of status for the current undocumented population; and
  
• Improvement, not expansion, of temporary worker programs, limited to temporary or seasonal, not permanent, jobs.

"This framework is a roadmap toward real reform--reform that addresses the needs of our nation's workers, families and communities," said Change to Win's Hansen. "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."

Read the AFL-CIO and Change to Win's "Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform."

Today Ya Es Hora, a coalition of Spanish-language media and Latino organizations, briefed national media at the National Press Club on the third phase of its historic civic engagement campaign to supplement Census Bureau efforts to reach the traditionally hard-to-count Latino community. This campaign, HAGASE CONTAR! (It's Time, Make Yourself Count!), will seek to inform and motivate the nearly 50 million U.S. Latinos to fully participate in the 2010 Census through a media and education grassroots campaign to mobilize hundreds of local organizations on the ground and push out effective public service messages.

Historically, the U.S. Census Bureau has had a poor track record of accurately counting the second-largest U.S. population group--the rapidly growing Latino community. In 2000, the Census undercounted Latinos by about three percent, which is roughly one million people. The expanding economic crisis and large number of foreclosures has increased the risk that tens of millions of residents will be missed in the Census--ensuring a full count of the Latino population will require a comprehensive, community-based effort.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that everyone is counted in the 2010 Census and that immigrants continue to play a central role in shaping the political future of this country," said SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina of this phase of the coalition's work. To learn more, visit www.naleo.org.