CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Today marks one year since the U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill to try to fix our nation’s broken immigration system. The bill has still not even been debated in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“If Congress won’t act, then President Obama must,” said Edgar Aranda-Yanoc, Chair of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, and a steering committee member of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR). “Our current immigration policies are tearing families apart. Something has to change.”
“Clearly we need immigration reform on the federal level, but until that happens we have to advocate for changes on the state level as well,” added Tim Freilich, Legal Director of the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Immigrant Advocacy Program, and Co-Chair of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights. “More than 11% of Virginians are immigrants. We need policies that support their efforts to contribute to our communities and economy—not policies that hold them back.”
VACIR invites immigrant community leaders, advocates and concerned supporters to join us to discuss issues of importance to Virginia’s immigrant communities, including the following:
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform on the Federal Level
• Access to Driver’s Licenses
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and In-State Tuition
• ICE Detainers and Local Immigrant Detention Policies
• Other issues of concern
The meeting will be held Saturday, June 28, 2014 from 1:30PM-4:00PM at Church of the Incarnation’s Parish Activity Center, 1465 Incarnation Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901. To register for the meeting, go to VACIR’s website: www.immigrantrightsva.org.
