Free Services Available at October 24 Washington New Americans Citizenship Day

Voting rights, safety and job opportunity are just a few of the benefits that citizenship brings. On October 24, Washington New Americans Citizenship Day will provide free services to legal permanent residents in Washington state who are seeking the American dream.

The Washington New Americans program is a partnership between the State of Washington and OneAmerica, a non-profit dedicated to advancing justice and equality. OneAmerica – along with the Washington Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) – administers Citizenship Day, which will be held this Saturday in Bellingham, Centralia, Pasco and Port Angeles. This Citizenship Day marks the first of three offered in 12 Washington state cities. The next two Citizenship Days are scheduled for February and April 2010.

Citizenship Day offers workshops providing assistance to legal permanent state residents eligible for naturalization. The Washington New Americans Program promotes successful immigrant integration by connecting Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) to the information and services they need to successfully pursue citizenship and become active members of their communities. Last year’s workshops provided assistance to 751 individuals and 371 naturalization applications were completed. Individuals attending Citizenship Days came from 84 countries, representing the rich diversity of the United States.

Offered at four locations on October 24, 2009, Citizenship Day will be staffed by volunteer immigration attorneys, paralegals, interpreters and other community members. These teams will prepare naturalization applications at NO COST. Applicants will be able to consult with professionals and ensure that their documentation is complete.

Citizenship offers enormous benefits, including access to better jobs, safety and security, and the right to vote and be fully involved in our democracy. Each year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from all corners of the globe, become United States citizens.

Family Unity Ride

LOCAL IMMIGRANTS JOIN NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

Family Unity Ride supports new immigration reform principles to be released by Congressman Gutierrez

SEATTLE – A coalition of immigrant advocacy organizations is sending two busloads of immigrants and allies from Seattle to San Jose, California on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, to join a national campaign in support of immigration reform. Approximately 105 immigrants and allies from Washington, Idaho and Oregon will join the Family Unity Ride. The buses will travel from Seattle to Salem, Oregon, and then on to Santa Clara, California, drawing attention to unfair immigration enforcement that too often separates families. Many of those traveling have been directly affected by our nation’s broken immigration system.

The Family Unity Ride is part of a series of national actions taking place across the country to push for passage of comprehensive immigration reform and to protest increased enforcement efforts undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Riders will join other California immigrant rights, labor and faith organizations at a protest rally and march in Santa Clara, where Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will be speaking at a university event. Napolitano is both in charge of U.S. immigration enforcement as well as the Obama administration’s designated point person on immigration reform efforts.

“Family unity cannot wait,” said OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal. “It is time to fix our broken immigration system – for our families, for our workers, for our businesses and for America. Our riders are going to make sure Secretary Napolitano hears that message.”

Coalition organizers will kick off Family Unity Ride with a press conference at OneAmerica’s office this Wednesday at 10:00 AM to announce details of the ride before sending off the buses. Coalition organizers include OneAmerica, CAUSA, Idaho Community Action Network, NWFCO, and Washington CAN.

Family Unity Ride follows the day after Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) and key allies in the House and Senate released a series of principles that outline a comprehensive immigration reform bill that Gutierrez plans to introduce later in this fall. The 840-mile West Coast bus ride and rally also follows a national rally with delegations from several states that was just held in Washington, D.C.

Join our Seattle Mayor and Seattle City Council candidate community forum – October 8

As Election Day draws near, do you know where candidates for City government stand on issues important to you and your community? Ask them yourself! Join us this Thursday, October 8, 2009, 6-8 PM, for a Seattle Mayor and Seattle City Council Candidates’ Forum at the New Holly Gathering Hall.

Hear what the local candidates have to say about immigrant rights, after-school youth programs, budget cuts to social services and library hours, job training programs, and much more! Co-sponsored by OneAmerica and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the event is free and translation will be available in English, Spanish, Somali, Amharic, and Vietnamese. Come early for dinner at 5:15 PM.

What: Seattle Mayor and Seattle City Council Candidates’ Forum

When: October 8, 2009, Dinner starts at 5:15 PM; Program runs from 6-8 PM

Where: New Holly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Ave South, Seattle 98118 – MAP

Questions: Contact Erin@WeAreOneAmerica.org; 206 723 2203 x 218

Principles and Components of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Core Principles

Download Principles

Reform must promote economic opportunity. Our vision of reform is of immigrants and citizens working shoulder to shoulder, with the same labor protections, access to programs and services, due process and faith in a system that works for them and their families. This is our vision for a stronger America.  We must renew our commitment to helping all low-income Americans improve their job prospects and move up the economic ladder.  Our vision of reform is that a rising tide lifts all boats.

Reform must be comprehensive. Unless we reform the system as a whole, we will fail to solve the problems at hand.  The necessary components are listed below.

Long-term reform requires long-term solutions. We must address the root causes of migration, our relationships with other nations and work in partnership to develop long term strategies that improve the economic conditions in regions that supply large numbers of economic migrants.

Critical Components of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

1)    Enhance our nation’s security and safety with a sensible enforcement policy. Once comprehensive immigration reform has been passed, we must ensure there is a sensible enforcement strategy that keeps America safe. This means prioritizing enforcement actions to genuine threats; prosecution of unscrupulous employers who are exploiting vulnerable workers; and preventing exploitation of the immigration system by those who seek to do the country harm.  This strategy, however, must be coupled with vigorous enforcement of civil rights and labor and employment laws.  An effective strategy must not include continued use of local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law, indiscriminate worksite and neighborhood immigration raids. Border enforcement must reflect American values, prioritizing the safety and security of border communities and consulting with these communities in the process.

2)    Protect fundamental rights for all. Our immigration enforcement system must reflect the American values of due process and civil rights for all people. Reform must include the right of every individual to a fair day in court. Enforcement must be subject to accountability mechanisms. Alternatives to detention should be considered and special protections provided for vulnerable populations. Detention should be a last resort and there must be legally enforceable detention standards.

3)    A rational and humane approach to the undocumented population. For the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in this country, we must create a process that leads to lawful permanent resident status and eventual citizenship.  Undocumented immigrants working and living in the U.S. must be counted through a registration program that includes reasonable submission to background checks, paying an appropriate fine, paying taxes and studying English.  If they satisfy these requirements, they must be given lawful permanent status and a path to citizenship.

4)    Keep American families together and reduce immigration backlogs. Our outdated family immigration channels, which keep close family members separated for decades, must be reformed to restore our commitment to promoting family unity.  Those stuck in endless “backlogs” should have their admission expedited, and those admitted on work visas should be able to keep their nuclear families intact.

5)    Ensure appropriate ways for workers to come in legally in the future with full worker rights and labor protections. We must protect all workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively, regardless of whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad.  Any employment verification system should determine employment authorization accurately and efficiently while protecting workers and good-faith employers and must contain sufficient due process and privacy protections.

6)    Allocate sufficient visas to close unlawful migration channels. A great failure of our current employment-based immigration system is that the level of legal immigration is set arbitrarily by Congress without regard to real labor market needs.  The resulting extra-legal migration channels have created a shadow economy that has allowed unscrupulous employers to manipulate the system to the detriment of workers and reputable employers alike.  Any reform package must allocate employment visas through an independent commission that can assess labor shortages and determine the number and characteristics of foreign workers to be admitted, with Congress’ approval.

7)    Promote immigrant integration. The federal government must help new immigrants become citizens if eligible, learn our language and laws, ensure equal opportunity for immigrants to participate in programs and services and support state and local governments’ efforts to help integrate these new Americans.

No one in America should go broke because they got sick – President Obama

We are in a fight for our lives.

Health care reform is the first big test of the coalition that came together last year – and we’re losing.

We need health care reform that controls costs, focuses on prevention, and includes a strong public option, because, like President Obama said over the weekend, “No one in America should go broke because they got sick.”

But health care reform is not just about health care – it’s about all the major changes that we worked to build momentum for this year. If we want to succeed on comprehensive immigration reform and address climate change, we need to pass health care reform first. But our goals are being blocked by a minority of loud protesters who make for great TV.

We need to come out in force now, and show that the shouting minority does not represent us.

That’s why OneAmerica is mobilizing to support health care reform, and ensure that our representatives know that the majority of their constituents want health care reform that covers everyone, including immigrants – and lowers costs, focuses on prevention, and includes a strong public option. As Obama said in June, “I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest.”

We need quality, affordable care that our families can count on.

- David Ayala, Organizing Director

P.S. – Make sure to watch the important video from Executive Director Pramila Jayapal on why health care matters.

We are mobilizing around three upcoming town halls:

Tuesday, Aug. 25, Rep. Adam Smith
Lakewood Town Hall
Milgard Family HOPE Center
10402 Kline St SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
Time of event: 7-9pm
Time to show up: 5pm
RSVP here!

Sunday, Aug. 30, Rep. Jay Inslee
Edmonds  Town Hall
7600 212th Street SW, Edmonds, WA
Time of event:  1:30
Time to show up:  12:30
RSVP here!

Monday, Aug. 31, Rep. Jay Inslee
Shoreline  Healthy WA Coalition
Shoreline Center
18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline, WA 98155
Time of event: 3-5pm
Time to show up: 2pm
RSVP here!

Carpooling and signs will be arranged on a first-come basis, so please RSVP today!

If you can’t come in person, the next best thing is a letter to the editor. By writing a short letter to the editor, you make sure the media is not dominated by anti-reform voices, and show the many ways that our broken health care system affects our country.

SEND A LETTER TODAY

Washington State Labor Council calls for immigration reform

Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council, sent a letter July 14, 2009, to U.S. Sens. Cantwell and Murray urging action toward immigration reform.

View Letter

Washington State Sheriff’s Association Calls for Urgent Fix to ‘Chaos’ of Immigration System

View Letter

SEATTLE – In a letter to Washington state Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, the Washington State Sheriff’s Association issued an urgent call for changes to the immigration system. The Sheriff’s Association cited a number of impacts caused by the broken U.S. immigration system, including expense on local courts and jails; erosion of trust between communities and law enforcement; and distracting law enforcement from their primary objective – public safety and crime prevention.

The letter challenges the President and Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that creates a clear distinction between federal civil immigration law enforcement and local law enforcement.

OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal hailed the statement as an important step forward for immigration reform. “This letter clearly demonstrates the dangerous impact of our current broken system on public safety and shows the breadth of the movement for reform.”

The text of the letter:

WASHINGTON STATE SHERIFF’S ASSOCIATION

3060 Willamette Drive NE – Lacey, WA 98516
Phone (360) 486-2380 Fax (360) 486-2381 www.washeriffs.org

DATE: June 22, 2009
TO: Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell,
FROM: Washington State Sheriffs’ Association

RE: The Time Is Now to Fix the Broken Immigration System and Its Safe-Guards

For years, the federal government has failed to deal with the broken immigration system and left our communities to deal with the effects:  illegal drug trade; smugglers who take advantage of immigrant workers and families; criminals who prey on immigrants because they believe they won’t be reported; the expense on local courts and local jails; millions of individuals trying to better their lot in life but who easily work with false papers or driving without a license; over-burdened schools; and an over-burdened health care system.  The time is now to fix the broken immigration system and its safe-guards.

The lack of a coherent national immigration policy has created chaos in our communities and made the job of law enforcement much harder.  Very bad people have been allowed to easily find their way into our communities and victimize us.  There has been confusion and disparities in how law enforcement agencies have chosen to handle immigration issues nationwide.

The lack of a coherent national immigration policy has also had an enormous negative impact on the trust that many of our sheriff’s offices and police departments have worked hard to build with immigrant communities over the years.  We know from experience that law enforcement is most effective in achieving its job of keeping the community safe when there is strong trust built.  However, the lack of a federal solution to the civil immigration system has stymied or eroded the trust we have built and our ability to effectively police all of our community.

Instead of forcing state and local police to pick up where the federal government has failed, Congress and the President must reform our immigration laws.  We urge Congress and the President to enact a comprehensive immigration law that secures the borders and addresses the reality of illegal workers in a comprehensive manner so that this nation can move forward as one.

We need a national immigration system that is just and humane and yet allows us to keep clear the important distinction between federal officials who enforce civil immigration law versus local law enforcement who enforce criminal law.

Our immigration system must process applications in a timely fashion so that immediate families can be together, whatever the decision may be on overall strategy.  Likewise, it must remove criminal aliens from the United States and punish human smugglers and unscrupulous employers who might try to profit from a broken system.
Ultimately, we believe strongly that enacting comprehensive federal immigration reform will allow state and local police to focus on job number one:  protecting all members of our communities from crime.  We urge Congress and President Obama to pass federal immigration reform as soon as possible as we serve our country and our communities on the front line every day.

The time is now to fix the broken immigration system and its safe-guards.

The Washington State Sheriffs’ Association

Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin, President

CC:         President Barack Obama
Senators Schumer & Cornyn, Senate Judiciary Committee
Representatives Lofgren & King, House Judiciary Committee

President Obama Commits to Immigration Reform

“I’m committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform as president of the United States.”
-President Barack Obama, at the 2009 Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast.

And across the country, we are ready to stand with him – starting just two weeks ago, when 750 activists gathered in DC to kick off our national immigration reform campaign “Reform Immigration FOR America”, and flooded Congress with over 100,000 calls and faxes to say that the time to Reform Immigration for America is now.

This morning President Obama made clear that he wants comprehensive immigration reform this year – including a path to citizenship for the millions now living in the shadows.  But to make sure he has the backing of Congress, we need your help – by texting “justice” (or “justicia” for Spanish) to 69866 right now!

We’ve developed a sophisticated program that will let you know when a crucial vote is coming up in the House, or a Senator needs to hear that his or her constituents support reform.  If you’re signed up, you’ll get a text message that will let you connect to your representative with one button.  Our goal is to add 1,000 new cell numbers to the network by July 3rd – so that when the crucial votes are being counted, our representatives hear from the 75% of Americans who want action on immigration reform – not the deceptively loud 4% who think our immigration system can be fixed by deportation.

We need your help – text “justice” (or “justicia” for Spanish) to 69866 today!

OneAmerica Launches Northwest Component of National Campaign to Reform Immigration FOR America

OneAmerica, Seattle Mayor and
community leaders launch national effort
to Reform Immigration FOR America

SEATTLE – Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and other business, labor and community leaders joined OneAmerica to launch the regional component of the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign, a broad-based national effort to fix the broken immigration system through a comprehensive legislative approach at City Hall on Monday.

Mubarak Elamin, chairman of the OneAmerica board, said, “We know there are many things on our plate right now as a nation – the economy and health-care reform, just to name two. But we know that immigration reform is also central to both of these issues and that economically and morally, the time is now to fix our broken system.”

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said Seattle has an interest in moving forward with immigration reform. “Almost 20 percent of our residents are foreign-born. We need to ensure equal opportunities in programs, services, civic life and protect the constitutional rights of all our residents. … (We) must ensure that we pass comprehensive immigration reform this year that is fair, just and humane.”

Renee Radcliff Sinclair, executive director of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the Northwest is particularly impacted by weaknesses in the immigration system. “This issue is particularly important in the Northwest where we have a very robust agricultural community as well as a growing technology sector.  I’ve worked with cherry orchardists in the Columbia River Valley that have seen their trees so heavy with cherries that the boughs were literally laying on the ground because they were unable to hire people to pick them.  At the same time, I’ve worked with software companies here in the Puget Sound region that couldn’t hire the engineers they needed to bring new products to market in a timely way because we hit the cap on H1-B visas in January of each year.

Jeff Johnson, special assistant to the president of the Washington State Labor Council, discussed the importance of fixing immigration to help all workers. “It is long past time that we end the shadow economy of fear and exploitation that has deprived millions of immigrant workers of basic workplace and health and safety rights and protections, cheated both domestic and foreign-born workers from receiving family wages and benefits, undercut the competitive basis for good employers … and criminalized workers for having the same desires and aspirations of all workers – to be safe and to provide for their families.”

A worker named Leandro Barranca-Morales, who was detained in the ICE raids at the Yamato Engine Specialists in Bellingham in February, spoke of his experience, saying he felt he was treated like a criminal and a terrorist, merely for trying to work.

For Benito Valdez, a World War II veteran, the failures of the U.S. immigration system have left a bitter taste after serving with valor in the military. “In 1992, I came to America with bright hopes that I could bring my children here with me. I was very disappointed when I found out that the citizenship granted to Filipino World War II veterans was only for the veteran and did not include their families. How could this happen? How can we live along in America at our age? Now sick with diabetes and after a heart bypass, here I am still waiting for my children after 15 years.”

On Wednesday, June 3, the national campaign will be launched in Washington, DC, and Thursday, June 4, OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal will co-emcee a national Town Hall with over 700 people from around the country and members of Congress.

How to get involved

Organizations interested in joining the campaign to Reform Immigration for America can visit the campaign site www.ReformImmigrationFORAmerica.org or www.ReformaMigratoriaProAmerica.org.


Critical Components of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

1)       A rational and humane approach to the undocumented population.  For the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in this country, we must create a process that leads to lawful permanent resident status and eventual citizenship.  Undocumented immigrants working and living in the U.S. must be counted through a registration program that includes reasonable submission to background checks, paying an appropriate fine, paying taxes and studying English.  If they satisfy these requirements, they must be given lawful permanent statusand a path to citizenship.

2)       Keep American families together and reduce immigration backlogs.  Our outdated family immigration channels, which keep close family members separated for decades, must be reformed to restore our commitment to promoting family unity.  Those stuck in endless “backlogs” should have their admission expedited, and those admitted on work visas should be able to keep their nuclear families intact.

3)       Ensure appropriate ways for workers to come in legally in the future with full worker rights and labor protections.  We must protect all workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively, regardless of whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad.  Any employment verification system should determine employment authorization accurately and efficiently while protecting workers and good-faith employers and must contain sufficient due process and privacy protections.

4)       Allocate sufficient visas to close unlawful migration channels.  A great failure of our current employment-based immigration system is that the level of legal immigration is set arbitrarily by Congress without regard to real labor market needs.  The resulting extra-legal migration channels have created a shadow economy that has allowed unscrupulous employers to manipulate the system to the detriment of workers and reputable employers alike.  Any reform package must allocate employment visas through an independent commission that can assess labor shortages and determine the number and characteristics of foreign workers to be admitted, with Congress’ approval.

5)       Protect fundamental rights for all.  Our immigration enforcement system must reflect the American values of due process and civil rights for all people. Enforcement must target genuine threats to our national security and all enforcement actions must be subject to accountability mechanisms. Alternatives to detention should be considered and special protections provided for vulnerable populations. Detention should be a last resort and there must be legally enforceable detention standards.

6)       Promote immigrant integration.  The federal government must help new immigrants become citizens if eligible, learn our language and laws, ensure equal opportunity for immigrants to participate in programs and services and support state and local governments’ efforts to help integrate these new Americans.

Sensible Enforcement Principles
Once comprehensive immigration reform has been passed, we must ensure there is a sensible enforcement strategy that keeps America safe, protects due process and human rights, and makes the most effective use of tools and policies already available in a fair and responsible manner.  This means prioritizing enforcement actions to genuine threats; prosecution of unscrupulous employers who are exploiting vulnerable workers; and preventing exploitation of the immigration system by those who seek to do the country harm.  This strategy, however, must be coupled with vigorous enforcement of civil rights and labor and employment laws.  An effective strategy must not include continued use of local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law, indiscriminate worksite and neighborhood immigration raids, and blanket detention policies.  Border enforcement must reflect American values, prioritizing the safety and security of border communities and consulting with these communities in the process.

###

Campaign Endorsements
9 to 5, National Association of Working Women
ACCESS (duplicate?)
ACORN
AFL-CIO
Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, Inc.
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Alliance to Develop Power
American Arab Forum
American Dream Community Agency
American Immigration Law Center
American Immigration Lawyers Association
American Jewish Committee
America’s Voice
Amigos Hispanos
Anti-Defamation League
Aquifer Media
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)
Arizona Advocacy Network
Arizona Interfaith Network
ASCOMBRA – Brazilian Community Association
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
Badmus Law Firm
Beardstown/Rushville Immigrant Families United – Gamaliel Affiliate
Blue Ridge Immigration Law Center, PLLC
Border Action Network
Border Ambassadors
Border Farmworkers of El Paso
Border Network for Human Rights
Breakthrough: Building Human Rights Culture
Brown and Caldwell / CIRC
Cambodian Community Development, Inc.
Capacity Partnership Group
Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (CAIR Coalition)
CASA de Maryland
Casa Esperanza
Catholic Social Services
CAUSA
CBO (Consejo Binacional de Organizaciones Comunitarias Mexicanas)
Center for American Progress
Center for Community Change
Center for New Community
Centro Campesino Inc.
Centro de la Familia
Centro de Orientación del Inmigrante (CODI)
Centro Independiente para Trabajadores Agrícolas (CITA)
Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform
Chicago Irish Immigrant Support
Church World Service, Immigration and Refugee Program
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers
Coalition of Latino Leaders-CLILA
Cobb Immigrant Alliance
COFEM
Colombians for TPS
Colombo Americans in Action
Colorado Council of Churches
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC)
Congregations Organizing for Renewal
Congreso
CONLAMIC
Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action at Manhattanville College
Conocer es Poder
Dando la Mano
Diversity Research and Action Center
Dominican Sisters of Houston
DV GROUP
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos
El Centro Inc.
El Paso County Attorney Office
El Pueblo
Emigrantes Sin Fronteras
Equal Justice Center
Esperanto Studies Resource Center
Evanston Immigrant Advocacy Project
Farmworkers Association of Florida
Federal & Hasson, Attorneys
FEDYC INC
Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR)
Georgia Rural Urban Summit
Guatemalan-Maya Center, The
Haitian Center of the Diocese of Trenton
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Inc (HIAS)
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama
Hispanic Liaison / El Vínculo Hispano
Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas
Hmong National Development
Holy Cross Catholic Church/Ministerio Hispano
Honduran Unity-Unidad Hondureña
Hudson Valley Community Coalition
Huntsville International Help Center
Idaho Community Action Network
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrant Advocacy Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center
Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County
Immigrant Rights Defense Committee of New Jersey
Immigrant Rights Network of Iowa
Immigration Equality
Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA)
International Institute of Rhode Island
International Institute of the Bay Area
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI)
Irish Apostolate USA
Jadoo & Zalenski, LLC
JCRC of Greater Washington
Jewish Community Action
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
JMC Strategies
Joint Commission for Church Extension
Justice Overcoming Boundaries in San Diego County
Korean American Resource and Cultural Center of Chicago
Korean Resource Center of Los Angeles
LA Voice PICO
LALDEF, Inc.
Latin America Taskforce Network; River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Latin American Coalition
Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF)
Latina Initiative
Latino Commission on AIDS
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Latinos Unidos de Alabama
Latinos With Disabilities
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #636
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 320
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 761
Legal Aid Justice Center
Logan Square Neighborhood Association
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
Make the Road New York
MAS-Freedom, North Carolina
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office
Mi Familia Vota Colorado
Middle TN Hispanic Democrats
Migrant Support Services of Wayne County (MSS)
Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network
Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates
Missouri Stream Team 882
MOSES-Gamaliel of Michigan
Nacoochee Presbyterian Outreach
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Education Association
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Movement for Legalization and Human Rights
National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC)
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
New Americans Caucus, Maryland House of Delegates
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network (NJIPN)
New York City Labor-Religion Coalition
New York Immigration Coalition
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations
Northwest Workers Justice Project
Oblates JPIC Office
OCA – Embracing the hopes and aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans
OneAmerica
ONE Lowell
Organizing for America on the East End
OrlandoWest Insurance Corporation
P.A.N.D.O.R.A.- Patient Alliance for Neuroendocrine Immune Disorder
P.A.S.O.- West Suburban Action Project
P.U.E.B.L.O
Paetenians International
People for the American Way
Peruvian American Political Action Committee of New Jersey
Philippine News
Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
Popol Vuh Latinoamérica Association
Poultry Plantation, Inc.
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
Progressive States Network
Rabbinical Assembly
Red Migrantes from Texas
Redlands Christian Migrant Association
Refugee and Immigration Ministries of the Christian Church (Disc
Rockland Immigration Coalition
SALEF – Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund
Salgado & Associates, PLLC
San Francisco Organizing Project
SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center
Scott D. Pollock & Associates, P.C.
SEIU Local 100
Service Employees International Union
Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network
Shirlington Employment and Education Center, INC
Si Se Puede Latino Democratic Caucus
Sin Fronteras, VEP
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sisters of St. Francis
Sojourners/Call to Renewal/ Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Somos America/We Are America Coalition
Somos Un Pueblo Unido
South Asian Americans Leading Together
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning
St. Stephen’s Grace Community – ELCA
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)
Student Immigrant Movement (SIM)
Sunflower Community Action
The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc.
The Episcopal Church USA
The Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Redwood, CA
The M Foundation
The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
The Sisters of the Presentation
TIGRA (
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrant
Union for Reform Judaism – Religious Action Center of Reform Jud
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Unite for Dignity, Inc.
United Church of Christ
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
United Methodist Church
United States Peru Chamber of Commerce
University Leadership Initiative
Voces de la Frontera
Washington Community Action Network
Westchester Hispanic Coalition
WISDOM, the Gamaliel Foundation in Wisconsin
World Organization for Human Rights
WOW Foundation, Inc.
Ya Basta! Tod@s Contra el Muro
YKASEC-Empowering the Korean American Community

Join the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America!

We invite your organization to join the campaign to Reform Immigration for America today.  Please sign on your organization to the campaign at the following website.

REPORT: OneAmerica finds immigrant workers aid state economy

‘Building Washington’s Future’ first to examine immigrant worker role in Washington

APRIL 8, 2009

SEATTLE – Speakers from Seattle-based immigrant rights group OneAmerica, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the University of Washington joined immigrant workers from Iraq today to discuss a report released today examining the contributions of immigrants to the Washington state economy.

The OneAmerica report is the first report to focus on the immigrant contributions to the state’s economy. “Building Washington’s Future: Immigrant Contributions to Our State’s Economy” outlines the role of immigrants in the work force and their direct contributions as taxpayers, consumers and workers in a variety of industries. “We need every person in this economy to really stimulate our state’s growth. This is an important time to have a discussion about immigrant contributions to our state,” said OneAmerica Executive Director Pramila Jayapal.

Washington state’s immigrant population is spread out across the state and is uniquely diverse with the majority of immigrants originally from Asia and Latin America.

Some of the state’s largest research and academic institutions and businesses, including the University of Washington and Microsoft, rely on H1-B visa workers. “This issue is particularly important here in the Northwest where we have a very robust agricultural center as well as a technology sector that is continuing to grow,” said Renee Radcliffe Sinclair, Executive Director of Congressional & Public Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The report also speaks to the importance of two-way integration for new immigrant workers such as a local dentist from Iraq who served as an interpreter to the United States Army before coming to the United States last year. His wife is also a dentist. Neither of them can practice in the United States but both want to provide for themselves and give back to society. “We are professionals, we came over here prepared, but the rules are putting locks on our hands,” said he said. His wife added, “When we were in Iraq they destroyed everything, my home and my dream. I left everything. I left my child. They told me I could go to America. I was so happy. The land of opportunity, the land of freedom. I’m going to get my chance to be a dentist and achieve my goals. I just want a chance.”

Washington’s immigrants who own their own businesses contribute significantly to the number of jobs created and provide approximately $1.3 billion, or 9.8 percent, of the total state business income. In Washington, Asians and Hispanics own 5.7 percent and 2.2 percent of businesses, respectively. The contributions of Washington’s immigrant work force support the need to invest in English Language Services, naturalization assistance and immigrant entrepreneurs. These investments are essential in an economic growth strategy in a struggling economy.

Finally, the report points out that the state’s Governor and Legislature should publicly push Congress and President Obama to enact comprehensive immigration reform this year. “We know immigration reform is a federal issue,” said Jayapal. “But the effects of a broken immigration system are felt by states across the country as our workers, businesses and economies suffer.”

Full Report

Executive Summary

Photos from the News Conference

PRESENTERS FROM NEWS CONFERENCE

Pramila Jayapal, Executive Director, OneAmerica

Comments from News Conference

Sarah Curry, Policy and Research Associate, OneAmerica

Comments from News Conference

Luis Fraga, Associate Vice Provost, UW, Director of Diversity Research Institute

Comments from News Conference

Renee Radcliffe Sinclair, Executive Director, Congressional & Public Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS

Jon Wyss, Governmental Affairs, Gebber Farms

Josh Koempel, Owner, Potentiality Farms

CONTACT INFO AVAILABLE BY REQUEST

206-853-3339 or naomi@weareoneamerica.org

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