Coalition of Latino Pastors To Hold Second Rally : Cleveland IMC (((i)))

The Coalition of Latino Pastors of Northeast Ohio will
hold their 2nd rally this month! The call for true
immigration reform must resound in the halls of
Congress. The first rally on Feb 10 was a huge
success, where Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland
announced that he regretted his affirmative vote for
HR 4437.

Rally at 11am-noon, Saturday, 2/25, at Elin Church,
6405 Walworth Ave, near W. 65th and Clark Ave (the old
Pat Catan store).

Bring a sign that says "No HR 4437"
PLEASE no anti-Bush or anti-candidate signs.

Tell Senator DeWine and Senator Voinovich that we must
have an adequate guest-worker program with a path to
legal residency or citizenship. The McCain-Kennedy
bill (SB1033) allows for this, (undocumented person
must first pay a fine), and includes national security
measures.
Research the bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas

"No HR 4437!" This draconian, all-enforcement,
unworkable bill passed the House in December '05.
HR4437 criminalizes 11 million undocumented
immigrants, reclassifies "good samaritans" as
"smugglers", gives local police federal immigration
powers and is soundly anti-humanitarian and
anti-immigrant. The congressmen and women that passed
this law are children and grandchildren of immigrants,
some were likely undocumented!

Rally organizer pastor Jesus LaBoy said "some see a
dark cloud over the nation and sound the alarm to
alert the people,...... others see the cloud and just
go on with normal life. I choose the first one."

Contact: Max Rodas <pastormax@hotmail.com>,
<pastorlaboy@hotmail.com>, 216-509-9297
<veronica_dahlberg@hotmail.com>,

Contact Senator DeWine before March 2. As Judiciary
Committee member, DeWine holds a key position. Ask him
to throw out HR4437 and support the bipartisan McCain-
Kennedy bill (SB1033). (sample letter below)

Call 216-522-7272 or fax 522-2239 or email:

http://capwiz.com/aila2/mailapp/

In passing the Border Security, Antiterrorism, and
Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437)
last December, the House of Representatives took a
great step backward, beginning down a path that will
lead only to more failure. H.R. 4437 is punitive,
extreme, and ultimately unworkable. When the debate on
immigration reform begins in the Senate in March, I
urge you to support a more thoughtful and rational
approach. Our immigration system is fundamentally
broken, and we need a realistic, comprehensive
solution, not more of the same failed policies.

H.R. 4437 would send a chill through our communities
and compromise our economy, but it would do nothing to
make us more secure. Instead of targeting those who
mean us harm, it would expand the definition of alien
smuggling to criminalize the work of social service
organizations, refugee agencies, churches, attorneys,
and other groups that counsel undocumented immigrants.
Additionally, H.R. 4437 would make presence in the
United States without valid immigration status a
criminal violation, rather than a civil one,
essentially rendering every violation of
status--however minor, technical, or unintentional--a
federal crime. The bill would also strip the courts of
much of their remaining jurisdiction over immigration
matters; gut the due process rights of aliens and
permanent residents; expand expedited removal; expand
the definition of "aggravated felony"; create new
grounds of deportability and inadmissibility; increase
mandatory detention; militarize the border; and place
limitations on eligibility for naturalization. Rather
than fixing our broken immigration system, these
punitive measures would serve only to drive
undocumented immigrants further into the shadows.

To gain control of our borders and truly guarantee our
security, we must implement a comprehensive approach
to immigration reform that will address the 11 million
people living here without papers. The vast majority
of these undocumented immigrants are law-abiding,
hardworking people who pay their taxes and contribute
to our society. By allowing these people an
opportunity to come out of the shadows, register with
the government, pay a hefty fine, go through the
security check process, and earn the privilege of
legal status, we can restore the rule of law in our
workplaces and communities and focus our enforcement
resources on those who mean us harm.

Besides providing a path to citizenship with
reasonable requirements for those who are already
here, a realistic, comprehensive approach to
immigration reform must include an effective guest
worker program that would match willing workers with
willing employers. It must also reunite close family
members, some of whom have been separated for twenty
years. Finally, comprehensive immigration reform must
implement a smart border security regime so that we
know who is coming into our country. Such reform would
facilitate the cross-border flow of people and goods
that is essential to our economy. A vibrant economy,
in turn, is essential to fund our security needs.

We have spent the last 20 years tightening immigration
enforcement, but it hasn't worked. Until our
immigration laws are in sync with our economic
realities and provide a safe, legal, and orderly way
for migrants to enter our country to work and reunite
with family, and for those who are here to come out of
the shadows and become integrated with society, we
cannot hope to gain control of our broken immigration
system.

I strongly urge you to enact realistic, comprehensive
immigration reform, and to reject enforcement-only
measures that hurt communities and do nothing to help
us gain control of our borders or make us more secure.

Cleveland Indy Media Center