Will RNC Chairman Michael Steele Keep Immigration Meeting This Wednesday?

In light of the recent, um, developments this week, I'm wondering if RNC Chairman Michael Steele will be keeping his hard-won meeting with grassroots Latino and immigration reform advocates on Wednesday. These community leaders staged a sit-in at the RNC last Monday, just one day after 200,000 people from across the country traveled thousands of miles to march for real immigration reform in Washington, D.C.

Watch the video from that action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zduGJl5r ... r_embedded


In case you couldn't hear it, that's Joshua Hoyt, Executive Director of ICIRR stating:

Family values are about not destroying families

When it comes to immigration reform, Republicans certainly could use an image boost with Latino voters.

From the Fair Immigration Reform Movement:


Meeting participants include: Tony Asion, executive director, El Pueblo, Inc. (North Carolina); Xiomara E. Corpeño, director of organizing and membership, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles; Ricardo Perez, founder and executive director, Hispanic Affairs Pastoral Project (Colorado); Joshua Hoyt, executive director, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Luis Huerta, student at Rio Hondo Community College and steering committee member of the California Dream Network; Pramila Jayapal, founder and executive director, OneAmerica (Washington); Eun Sook Lee, executive director, National Korean American Service & Education Consortium; Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director, Voces de la Frontera (Wisconsin); Tim O'Harrow, member of the Council of Rural Initiatives and the Dairy Business Association; Julien Ross, executive director, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition; and Sergio Suarez, successful businessman and entrepreneur (Chicago)

WHY: Less than two weeks after bringing more than 200,000 people to Washington to demand Congress and President Obama step up efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform, immigrant rights leaders are continuing to press for action. They are meeting with RNC Chairman Michael Steele to demand that the Republican Party and Republican members of Congress work with Democrats to enact comprehensive immigration reform this year. Participants will be available for comments and questions following the meeting.

The meeting was granted to leaders of the immigration reform movement following a peaceful sit-in at the RNC headquarters last week. A group of about 40 protesters occupied the RNC lobby on Monday, March 22, 2010, with more than 40 other protesters singing and chanting in the rain outside. Legislative efforts in the House and Senate have drawn public support from only one Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham. The leaders intend to ask Steele, who has publicly expressed concerns about his party's future if it continues to be perceived as hostile toward immigrants and Latinos, for help in persuading more Republicans to come out in favor of reforming our broken immigration system.

http://americasvoiceonline(dot)org/blog/entry/rnc_chairman_immigration_meeting