United Methodist Women Support Immigrant Rights!
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Between June 19 and July 12, contact your Senators and House Representative and urge them to support comprehensive immigration policy that respects the full human rights of all immigrants.
The House and Senate are about to begin negotiations on two immigration bills. The House bill focuses on increased policing, border enforcement and criminalization of undocumented immigrants and those who help them. The Senate bill combines paths to legalization for a limited number of immigrants while also increasing enforcement provisions. None of the current proposals seem adequate to create a just, humane immigration policy.
We urgently need to get the message to Congress that comprehensive immigration reform is a more effective and compassionate alternative and preferable to more enforcement. Comprehensive reform would include full labor protections, family reunification, preservation of due process, and a path to genuine legalization.
Anti-immigrant groups are flooding Congress with calls against comprehensive reform. As of early June, more than 2,000 bricks have been received by Congressional offices, sent by people who want a wall built on the U.S.-Mexico border. Your response is urgently needed.
1. You will have the most impact if you make a phone call. You may want to use the letter below for talking points.
You can find the phone numbers of your Senators and House Representative at:
2. If you prefer to write to your Senators and House Representative, visit their websites for their e-mail addresses and fax numbers, the quickest way to reach them:
3. Instead of bricks for more walls, you might want to send a pair of work gloves with your letter to honor the work that immigrants contribute to our society, and tell your Congressional representatives why.
Following is a sample letter that you may want to use for writing or faxing.
If calling by phone, you may want to simply use the first and last sentences of this sample letter.
Dear _______________________,
I am writing about immigration reform legislation that is currently being considered in Congress.
We need comprehensive immigration reform that respects the human rights of immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are now an important part of our economy. We must reward their hard work by providing them with a path to legal residence and citizenship. We must also provide more opportunities for immigrants to come in the future to work and to join their families in the U.S. Providing more opportunities for immigrants to come here legally will be a far more effective way to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants than would any wall on the border, detention or criminalization.
Our immigration system is broken because our laws do not provide enough opportunity for hardworking immigrants to come here legally and work, with a path to citizenship. H.R. 4437 and S. 2611 do not fix the problem.
The social policy of the United Methodist Church calls us to embrace and act justly toward the "sojourner" - and to receive the gifts they bring to American society.
I urge you to support comprehensive immigration reform and to reject enforcement provisions that are both ineffective and deny human rights.
Sincerely,
Following is a sample letter that you may want to use for writing or faxing.
If calling by phone, you may want to simply use the first and last sentences of this sample letter.
Dear _______________________,
I am writing about immigration reform legislation that is currently being considered in Congress.
We need comprehensive immigration reform that respects the human rights of immigrants. Undocumented immigrants are now an important part of our economy. We must reward their hard work by providing them with a path to legal residence and citizenship. We must also provide more opportunities for immigrants to come in the future to work and to join their families in the U.S. Providing more opportunities for immigrants to come here legally will be a far more effective way to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants than would any wall on the border, detention or criminalization.
Our immigration system is broken because our laws do not provide enough opportunity for hardworking immigrants to come here legally and work, with a path to citizenship. H.R. 4437 and S. 2611 do not fix the problem.
The social policy of the United Methodist Church calls us to embrace and act justly toward the "sojourner" - and to receive the gifts they bring to American society.
I urge you to support comprehensive immigration reform and to reject enforcement provisions that are both ineffective and deny human rights.
Sincerely,
