This week IPC released a new report that squarely refutes misleading claims by anti-immigrant (and anti-labor) groups who believe that spending over $200 billion to deport unauthorized immigrants will solve our nation's serious economic challenges. Confirming earlier data, the Economic Blame Game: U.S. Unemployment is Not Caused by Immigration shows that swapping out the 8.3 million unauthorized immigrants working in the U.S. today WILL NOT improve job prospects for the 15.7 million Americans currently unemployed.

When you get down to the specifics, replacing employed undocumented workers with unemployed native workers just doesn't work out. They live in different parts of the country, work in different industries, and have divergent skill sets. Some key facts from the report:

• Overall regions with the highest unemployment rates--particularly manufacturing centers and rural areas--tend to have the lowest population of recent immigrants. A few examples....
• The largest share of (26.9%) of all employed recent immigrants without a high school diploma lived in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington in 2008. But the largest share (18.9%) of unemployed natives without a high school diploma live in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
• Recent immigrants are 17% of the labor force in Miami, but only 3% of the labor force in Cleveland. Yet the unemployment rate for native-born blacks in Cleveland is double that of native-born blacks in Miami.

In contrast, the report shows that mass deportation strategy doesn't come close to addressing the real needs of workers suffering in today's economy. According to a new study by the Perryman Group, deporting 12 million unauthorized immigrants would cost $1.8 trillion in lost spending annually, $651.5 billion in annual lost output, and $8.1 million in lost jobs.

Yet, as IPC, NILC, and the conservative leaning CATO Institute have reported previously, a comprehensive immigration reform package like the one debated by the Senate in 2007 could generate hundreds of billions of dollars for the U.S. economy. By getting unauthorized workers into the system, we'll increase the tax base, increase consumer spending, and raise wages and standards for all workers.

Click here to check out the full IPC report. And to learn more about the economic benefits of legalizing undocumented immigrants, check out the NILC report written by Jon Blazer and SEIU's own Joshua Bernstein--"Legalizing Undocumented Immigrants: An Essential Too in the Fight Against Poverty."

Thanks to SEIU's Don't Wreck the Census campaign--our micro site and Tweet your Senator tool--we generated over 750 letters and 1,700 phone calls to members of the Senate, urging them to vote NO on the Vitter-Bennett amendment.

In a statement, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina said:

"Today U.S. Senators put working families ahead of the politics of division and hatred. Joining a chorus of former U.S. Census Directors and advocacy leaders, the Senate voted down Senators Vitter and Bennett's misguided attempt to undercut 2010 enumeration efforts and mar this critical process with hateful, anti-immigrant politics."

Read full statement by Medina here.

Again--thank you for making calls, writing letters, blogging, and Tweeting your Senators to vote no on the Vitter-Bennett amendment. In addition to SEIU, the Don't Wreck the Census campaign was composed of the of the following organizations: AAJC, CAP, Demos, HNBA, LCCR, LDF, LULAC, MALDEF, NALEO, NDN, PFAW, SEIU.

Read coverage of the victory in NOLA.com, the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal.

We just learned that the Senate is scheduled to vote on the Vitter-Bennett amendment today at noon.

It's time to make our voices heard on Capitol Hill.  Can you join us in calling your senators right now?

Don't let them inject their anti-immigrant agenda into every conceivable realm of public life.

Click here to call your Senator and tell them to vote NO on the Vitter-Bennett amendment: http://call.seiu.org/9/NOammendment2644

"Some politicians come up with dumb ideas. Some come up with impractical ideas that would cost taxpayers millions of dollars. And then there are those lawmakers with crazy proposals that would violate the United States Constitution.¹"

Republican Senators Vitter and Bennett hit the trifecta by trying to wreck the US Census.

They've filed an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill that would strip funds from the Census Bureau -- if they do not include a question regarding status of United States citizenship to the US Census.

If passed, the Vitter-Bennett amendment would throw a monkey wrench into the U.S. Census by requiring over 120 million questionnaires to be reprinted, wasting over $7 billion in research, planning, and preparation that has occurred for Census 2010.

Don't let them inject their anti-immigrant agenda into every conceivable realm of public life.

Click here to write your Senator and tell them to vote NO on the Vitter-Bennett amendment:

http://action.seiu.org/noonvitterbennett

As we get closer to the vote on the amendment this week -- it's even more important that your Senators know where you stand on a full and accurate count of the US Census.

It is in people's best interest to be counted because the US Census is how our country makes decisions about allocation of resources and local representation, regardless of race or immigration status.

A failed 2010 U.S. Census count has massive implications that could be devastating to communities for the next decade--and supporting an amendment that takes away the ability of the Census to paint an accurate portrait of America is crazy.

Click here to write your Senator: http://action.seiu.org/noonvitterbennett

Thanks for all you do,

Joaquin Guerra
SEIU.org

^{1"Impractical and Unconstitutional."Center for American Progress}

If passed, Vitter's amendment would throw a monkey wrench into the U.S. Census, by stopping the 2010 Census dead in its tracks--preventing the questionnaire forms from being mailed next spring and wasting over $7 billion in research, planning, and preparation that has occurred for Census 2010. Lastly, it would completely render useless the one document that is supposed to paint an accurate picture of who we are as a nation.

And that's why SEIU has joined with 11 other partners to launch Don't Wreck the Census.

Go check it out and while you're there, call your Senator and tell them to vote No on the Vitter amendment. When you're done, write your Senator using our handy tool.

Today, in a meeting to convene a diverse group of labor, advocacy, faith and business leaders, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina met with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to discuss immigration reform.

As an added bonus, President Barack Obama made an unscheduled visit to the meeting and reiterated his support of pushing through a comprehensive immigration package this Congress.

The Hill reports that:

"Obama urged leaders to work together in order to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Advocates took the presidential visit as a sign of the administration's commitment to the issue."

In the first of its kind meeting -- to convene a diverse group of advocates to begin sketching a framework for reform-- Vice President Medina issued the following statement:

"Today's White House meeting with Secretary Napolitano and a diverse group of labor, faith, and business leaders is an important step towards shaping smart, comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the comings months. As the leader of the Department that has for far too long been tasked with the impossible job of enforcing broken, outdated laws, Secretary Napolitano knows first-hand how critical it is that we pass sweeping immigration reforms that are smart, enforceable and strengthen our economy for the long term.

"In coming months as the immigration debate heats up, Secretary Napolitano will play a central role in promoting real progress on the issue. In order to achieve the smart policy solution that the American public wants, we urge Secretary Napolitano to stand up publicly, light the fire and become an outspoken champion of comprehensive reform.

"Enforcement without reform has been tried for decades with dismal results. Instead of solving problems, it wastes taxpayer dollars, marginalizes immigrant communities and degrades the quality of life for all workers. In particular, expansion of employment verification programs like E-Verify is like painting the roof when the house is on fire; it's the wrong solution at the wrong time.

"For every day we delay on passing a solution to our broken immigration system, we impede our nation's economic recovery, create unnecessary divisions in our workforce, and cost taxpayers billions of wasted dollars.

"It is unacceptable to live in a country where millions of workers are living in shadows. The only way to ensure that every job in this country is filled by a legal permanent resident is to get undocumented immigrants out of the underground economy, into the system and under the rule of law. Diverse groups are aligned on the need for a comprehensive solution. Now we need the Administration and Congress to take bold steps, roll up their sleeves and pass smart reforms once and for all.

Shortly after the meeting, Secretary Napolitano issued a statement on the meeting saying:

"Today's meeting on comprehensive immigration reform was an important opportunity to hear from stakeholders and build on the significant time I've spent on the Hill meeting with members of Congress on this critical subject. I look forward to working with President Obama, my colleagues in Congress and representatives from law enforcement, business, labor organizations, the interfaith community, advocacy groups and others as we work on this important issue."

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.

We did it!

Today, Walter Lara was supposed to be sent back to Argentina -- a country that he left when he was 3 years old and has no memory of. But thanks to everyone who rallied around Walter's cause and took action, he's not being deported today.

Here's what grassroots and immigration rights activists did together on Walter's behalf:

• Over 3,000 people co-signed Sen. Nelson's letter
  
• Over 1,000 calls were made to the Department of Homeland Security--so many that their message system was overwhelmed.

Thanks to DREAMer activism, Walter did not have to spend Independence Day saying goodbye to his family. 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.

Here's a message from Walter on how we can clear a path for other undocumented students and support higher education for all students:

To Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senator Bill Nelson, Representatives Corrine Brown, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, words cannot express my gratitude. Their action is an acknowledgment that our immigration laws are broken.

But personal interventions won't help the tens of thousands of others in the immigrant community who stand to benefit from passage of the DREAM Act.

This is why we need Congress to pass the DREAM Act.

Call your Senator right now and ask them to support the DREAM Act.

I was lucky, but the reality is that someone else is being deported today.

Please call them.

Thank you,
Walter Lara

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the blogosphere have been buzzing over the past 48 hours, as thousands of grassroots activists and Congressional leaders contacted the Department of Homeland Security to stop the deportation of Walter Lara, a 23 year-old honor student facing deportation this Independence Day weekend. Today, Walter Lara was granted a one year stay of his deportation.

In response to DHS's deferment, Walter issued the following statement:

"Today, words cannot express my gratitude to Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senator Bill Nelson, Representatives Corrine Brown, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and the thousands of grassroots activists whose unified efforts have given me a second chance to live out my American Dream.

"As I look to celebrate Independence Day with family and friends this weekend, I have once again seen what makes America the best country in the world. Americans are fair, just, and kind. When we unite our strength to defend our shared values -opening rather than shutting the doors of opportunity - we can achieve anything. As I have said before, America is the only country I have known and I am an American. I have never been more proud to say that than I am today.

"But even as the dust settles on this tremendous personal victory, my sights are clearly set on the struggle ahead to build a long-term future for me and the more than 2 million like me whose lives may be cut short and dreams deferred.

"The action taken by the leaders in Congress and the Department of Homeland Security is an acknowledgment that our immigration laws are broken. The DREAM Act, if passed, would help people like myself, who came here through no fault of their own, stay in this country, be put on a path to citizenship and contribute to our nation."

More background on Walter and the campaign that spread that wildfire to keep him from being deported after the break.

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.

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.

What do polling participants want? Pragmatic proposals that move America forward! When do they want it? Now!

The American people want our country's broken immigration system to be fixed--and they want Congress to make it happen within the year. According to new polling, public support for comprehensive immigration support remains unwavering despite the country's economic downturn.

The recent national poll from Beneson Strategy Group for America's Voice demonstrates that the solution-oriented mindset of American people in tough times is actually leading to increased support for a broad overhaul of the nation's immigration policies. While approximately 2/3 of voters (64 percent) support reform prior to being given a full explanation of key components of the legislation, when given a detailed description of a comprehensive immigration reform proposal, support for Congress to pass reform increased to nearly 9 in 10 voters.

These stunning polling figures of 1,000 likely voters throughout the country for America's Voice show strong favor for reform proposal specifics that would allow undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and gain citizenship if they meet certain conditions. Voters also broadly rejected proposals calling for mass-deportation of the nation's roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants, as well as tactics using enforcement-only punishment tactics.

Kos (founder of political blog Daily Kos) expresses our sentiments surrounding these poll results to a "T":

Can there possibly be a bigger win-win? The American people strongly support what is a moral and practical imperative -- to bring 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and integrate them into our society. Now all we need is our politicians to do the right thing.

At the America's Future Now! conference in Washington, DC on Tuesday, SEIU International Executive VP Eliseo Medina addressed attendees on why comprehensive immigration reform is an important issue to support. Watch the video of his speech here:

Medina has been a dedicated and active participant in the coalition of advocates for comprehensive immigration reform, appearing at several kickoff events this week gearing up for the summer-long push to get moving on legislation this year.

At yesterday's press conference sponsored by Reform Immigration FOR America--a new campaign bringing together labor, faith, civil rights, pro-immigrant, business and law enforcement communities to help President Obama make good on his promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2009--Medina emphasized the economic advantages to bringing the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. "out of the shadows." Not creating a fair process allowing for legalization, said Medina, will just allow employers to continue taking advantage of undocumented workers, which "serves only to undermine wages for all workers."

More on how immigration reform would benefit our current economy.

New York: Gray skies and rainy conditions didn't deter a diverse crowd of more than 1,000 community activists and workers--including hundreds of SEIU Local 32BJ members--from marching in midtown Manhattan on May 1, to call on Congress and the Obama administration to reform the immigration system by providing a path to citizenship for 12 million undocumented workers. "We can no longer afford to ignore the valuable contributions of immigrant workers, who are not only part of the rich social and cultural fabric of our country but are also adding $700 billion dollars every year to our economy," said Hector Figueroa, Local 32BJ Secretary Treasurer.

NYC's rally was one of dozens of May Day marches held across the country (Check out our photos and recap of the Washington, DC rally here).

Chicago: The windy city had dreary weather similar to NYC's on May 1st, but around 2,000 rally-goers gathered at Union Park anyways and took to the streets chanting "Yes, we can," as they marched to the Federal Plaza to demand just and humane immigration reform. Many labor and community activists (including SEIU Local 1 members) held signs calling for an end to immigrant raids; others carried "the world" on their shoulders to symbolize the impact working immigrants have around the globe.

Watch SEIU Illinois State Council President Tom Balanoff address May Day marchers in Chicago:

Photos from DC, NYC & Chicago rallies on Flickr here.

Wow, what a week for immigration reform!

Thursday, Senator Chuck Schumer chaired a Judiciary subcommittee hearing on immigration reform, "Can We Do It and How?" And his answer was 'Yes we can.' He knows it'll be hard work but he and the witnesses - including our own executive VP Eliseo Medina - agreed that there is great reason for hope. President Obama wants to get this job done, and even the freshman, newly-appointed senator from my home state of Colorado, Michael Bennet, has been traveling around our state talking about the need for comprehensive immigration reform now.

This Friday, May 1st, I joined SEIU Local 32BJ, SEIU members and thousands of immigration advocates from around the country to march from Malcolm X Park to the White House.

What a crowd! The immigration reform rallies I have been to in the past have usually been 'family' events marked by enthusiasm and passion--and this one was no different. What I saw was a group of workers standing up and standing together for better treatment. People who know that the labor they provide carries more value than they are receiving for it, and are raising their voices to call for real reforms now.

Why we as citizens don't do this more often, I don't know. I do know that putting a floor under the most vulnerable workers in this country will help maintain a standard of living for all of us. And this year's May Day theme emphasizing America's immigrant history - immigrant roots, immigrant rights -- couldn't have been more on target.

After getting fired up with a big crowd like the one in DC on Friday, I feel ready for the work it'll take to get this job done and finally pass smart, pragmatic immigration reform that supports all workers. !Si se puede!

* Read more about last week's Senate hearing on immigration reform.

May Day, a day historically used to celebrate the the contributions of working people, has become the day for the immigrant rights movement in recent years. This May 1st, thousands of workers, labor leaders and community activists are taking it to the streets to demand justice for all workers and pressure Congress to pass comprehensive reform that puts an end to the Bush administration's immigration policies.

From DC to Los Angeles and everywhere in between, people will be showing their support for President Obama's plan for immigration reform in 2009. "We want to move this process," Obama said at a news conference yesterday on his 100th day in office. "We can't continue with a broken immigration system. It's not good for anybody."

Labor and community activists will rally at Malcolm X Park to march to the White House, as part of the larger DC march for immigration reform expected to have a turnout of around 5,000 activists. "This is a perfect time to express our support for the President's position on immigration reform and add some public pressure on Congress," says Jaime Contreras, District Chair and Area Director of SEIU Local 32BJ, who is sponsoring the event with National Capital Immigrant Coalition and CASA de Maryland. Other cities with large expected turnouts include Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Visit www.ANewDayForImmigration.org/ for more info on May 1 marches across the country.

May Day actions: We're trying to gather photos and coverage of May 1 events where SEIU Locals are participating to feature on the SEIU Blog and in CONNECT@SEIU. Please send your photos and articles featuring SEIU May 1 activities to newmedia@seiu.org.

Today's Senate Judiciary Hearing "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do It and How?" kicked off the immigration debate in the 111th Congress. Under the leadership of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Subcommittee heard from an array of prominent witnesses who shared their perspectives on the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform.

Just after 4 p.m., SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina gave his testimony at the hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. "The current broken system has given rise to a three-tier caste worker system in America--citizens, guest workers and undocumented workers," said Medina. "This onerous system depresses wages for all workers because, unfortunately, too many employers seek out the cheapest, most vulnerable workers in order to gain a competitive advantage. This helps no one, not American workers, not immigrants, not businesses that play by the rules and certainly not taxpayers who wind up paying for an ineffective enforcement system focused on arresting nannies, farm workers and gardeners instead of stopping drug smugglers, gang members or other larger threats to our national security."

Medina shared his personal story of coming to the U.S. in the 1950s and detailed how seeing undocumented workers and guest workers being mistreated has played a prominent role in framing his views on the need for immigration reform. "I saw this system firsthand with my father and brother and later as an adult working with sugar cane cutters in Florida under the H2A program," said Medina. "These workers are not treated as 'guests' in our country but more like indentured servants."

Medina framed the desires of immigrants and workers in our country, saying that the labor movement endorses a better way to bring in future workers that is based on sound policy instead of politics as usual. He detailed the unified proposal of Change to Win and AFL-CIO to enact real immigration reform that recommits our resources to working towards allowing millions of undocumented workers to come out of the shadows. Check out liveblogging of the Senate hearing on immigration reform at America's Voice here.

New national polling numbers show that the American people strongly support comprehensive immigration reform and expect President Obama to follow through on his campaign promise to address the issue. It's important that the American public understands the connection between immigration reform and our nation's economic recovery. If you need more proof, watch C-SPAN's video coverage of the Senate Judiciary hearing on immigration reform and hear it straight from the mouth of Alan Greenspan, NCLR's Janet Mergulia and SEIU's Eliseo Medina.

[Eliseo Medina's testimony begins at 1:39:30] Read the entire transcript of Medina's testimony here.

Want to participate in a May 1 immigration reform march? Join the virtual Immigration march or find a march in your local area:

* http://elrinconcitodeaurora.blogspot.com/...
* http://www.anewdayforimmigration.org/

SEIU International Executive Vice-President Eliseo Medina released the following statement on today's report by the Southern Poverty Law Center examining the discrimination and abuse of Hispanic workers in the South:

"A basic moral test for our society is how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst. Today's report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (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.

"Thanks to widespread misconceptions, reinforced by right-wing propaganda, Hispanic workers--regardless of their immigration status-face workplace discrimination, hounding by law enforcement and are too often attacked by extremist hate groups. They too often know little if anything about how to exercise their legal rights to protection or how to stop being cheated out of wages or the denial of basic health and safety protections.

"We are judged by how we respond to discrimination of one neighbor by another so today's report should serve as a wakeup call that these despicable acts will continue until we pass comprehensive immigration reform."

SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina joined the President of the Department of Professional Employees Paul Almeida, both representing Change to Win unions and AFL-CIO unions, to discuss the groups' unified framework for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. "Many immigrants we are discussing are our members and they are working hard every day. We do not want the status quo to continue," said Medina.

Listen to the full interview and see coverage this week from the LA Times and the Washington Post.