Thread: Asian groups trying to push immigration reform to top of age

Asian groups trying to push immigration reform to top of agenda
By Rebecca Kimitch, Staff Writer

Posted: 08/17/2009 05:44:32 PM PDT


While health care reform dominates the national agenda, immigrant rights groups are mobilizing a campaign to put immigration reform back on the top of the national priority list.

Responding to an announcement from President Barack Obama last week that immigration reform would be put off until at least 2010, a collaboration of Asian and Pacific Islander organizations near Historic Filipino Town on Monday kicked off a week of activities aimed at pressuring federal lawmakers to move it forward.

Filipinos face one of the longest average waits to enter the U.S. - up to 22 years.

"To continue to punt immigration reform to next year, to the year after, to the next Congress, just doesn't work for us. While we absolutely want health care reform and are are extremely supportive of that effort, we can't allow immigration reform to fall by the wayside," said Sara Sadhwani, immigrant rights project director for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (APALC).

Immigrant rights advocates have been galvanized by Obama's comment in Mexico last week that immigration reform would come after reforms to health care and regulation of the financial sector, Sadhwani said.

But the health care debate - and fears that reform would bring more health care to undocumented immigrants - has also galvanized groups who wish to close the national doors to more immigration, according to Barbara Coe, founder of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform, which, despite the name, is against immigration reform.

"If our efforts are successful, Obama will push (immigration reform) off forever," she said. "We don't need any immigration reform, all we need is our current laws enforced."

APALC and dozens of other Asian and Pacific Islander organizations are pushing lawmakers this week to begin work on immigration reform that creates a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, eliminates the backlog of visa requests, and halts the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

They have also turned up the heat on the already highly controversial immigration debate by including rights for same-sex couples in their desired reforms.

About 36,000 same-sex binational couples live in the United States, and those in which one of the partners is legal but the other is not are not allowed to apply for residency the way heterosexual couples can.

Because the Asian Pacific Islanders' call for immigration reform is largely based on family reunification, same-sex immigration reform is a natural fit, Sadhwani said.

Family reunification is the primary reason Asians and Pacific Islanders come to the United States. And though a path to citizenship exists for most family members of U.S. citizens and green card holders, many wait for years in their home countries to get a visa, according to the APALC.

Lawmakers would be smart to listen to the API demands, according to APALC Executive Director Stewart Kwoh.

API voters account for about 10 percent of the electorate in Los Angeles County, and much more in the San Gabriel Valley.

Nationally, the number of API voters increased by 21 percent from 2.8 million in 2004 to 3.4 million in 2008.

"And it's not just the Asian American community," Kwoh said. "We are united with the Latino community; we are united with the faith community; we are united with the business community."

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_13146483

" "And it's not just the Asian American community," Kwoh said. "We are united with the Latino community; we are united with the faith community; we are united with the business community." "

So...I guess they are showing their true colors.

Lawmakers would be smart to listen to the API demands, according to APALC Executive Director Stewart Kwoh

Lawmakers would be wise to start listening to Americans because we ARE AS MAD AS HELL AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!

Family reunification is the primary reason Asians and Pacific Islanders come to the United States. And though a path to citizenship exists for most family members of U.S. citizens and green card holders,

Chain migration needs to be stopped too!