Enlaces News #9 (May 2005)

NALACC Launches New Campaign
“Keep Our Families Together”

On March 22, the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) launched a new campaign called “Keep our Families Together.” Timed to coincide with a meeting between U.S. President Bush and Mexico’s President Fox, the campaign featured kick-off events in seven cities in Illinois, New York, California, Massachusets, Florida, and Texas.

Over the next two years, NALACC members will work together to educate policymakers and the public about the need for comprehensive immigration reform. The campaign platform stresses the need to:

• Reduce the waiting period for immigration visas or citizenship requests to no more than six months.

• Develop a program that will allow immigrants who live in the United States to become legal permanent residents and have the option to become citizens.

• Create a national integration initiative to help immigrants become full participants in the political, social and economic fabric of the United States.

• Establish policies that manage future migration flows into the United States in a way that is legal, secure, and respects human rights.

NALACC leaders point out that international economic policies have aggravated economic conditions in many Latin American and Caribbean countries, forcing thousands of people to migrate in search of a better life. According to Elena Letona, Executive Director of NALACC member Centro Presente, “There is such a contradiction in the current political context that claims to promote family and moral values, yet enacts policies that keep families apart and treat people who are hard working, contributing members of the U.S. economy as criminals and potential terrorists.”

Without legal permanent residency status, immigrants cannot travel or petition their families; hence family separation can be very long. In many cases, immigrants have not been able to be at the side of dying parents, or they have left young children behind whom they have not seen grow up. The wait for processing a family petition for a permanent residency visa can stretch to 14 years in some cases. These intolerable waits and subsequent negative impacts on families affect millions of legal permanent resisents and citizens. “In the United States, we value strong families, but our immigration policies don’t reflect our values, “ said José Luis Gutiérrez, NALACC member and President of the Illinois Federation of Michoacan Clubs.

 

The “Keep our Families Together” Campaign will help Latin American and Caribbean immigrant communities to make their voices heard by participating fully in the democratic process. The Campaign will engage the immigrant-led community-based organizations that form NALACC in a series of coordinated activities including visits to legislators, community education events, voter registration and mobilization, and fax and letter-writing drives targeting the policymakers who have the power to change the laws. NALACC is a network of 75 Latin American and Caribbean immigrantled organizations working to raise the quality of life in their communities, both in the United States and in countries of origin. For more information and opportunities to participate in the campaign, see: www.nalacc.org