CaribPR Newswire – “It is imperative that Caribbean American nationals and those in the region lobby intensely for the passage of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, a recently introduced immigration legislation in the U.S. House that if passed into law would grant greencards to undocumented immigrants in the U.S.”
That’s the word from Felicia Persaud, columnist of the popular, ‘Immigration Korner,’ and editor-in-chief of the Caribbean World News Network’s, Hardbeatnews.
Persaud’s comments come just days after the harsh Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act of 2005 was introduced by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona in the U.S. Senate. And as the Patriot Act, which civil libertarians say will infringe on the constitutional rights of many, especially immigrants, was passed in the U.S. Congress.
The Cornyn-Kyl bill calls for the 11 or so million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., including Caribbeans, to pay a fine and leave the country before they could even be considered eligible for the short-term guest worker visas they proposed.
Persaud said these are scary times for immigrants in the U.S., as the noose tightens and immigrants become pushed into a corner, much like frightened deer. She said it is now more urgent that those leaders with access to President Bush raise the need for legalization for the large Caribbean immigrant population here and for Caribbean citizens in the U.S. to raise their voices on behalf of those undocumented immigrants without a legal voice.
“With the terror attacks in London, and the heightened state of terror across the U.S. and the world, the scapegoating of immigrants has begun by conservatives, from the British National Party to the Republicans in the U.S. congress,” said Persaud. “What is being ignored is the fact that the majority of immigrants are not terrorists but hardworking people who are making a significant contribution to the countries they call home outside of the Caribbean.”
She also urged church leaders in New York to support the August 1, the Caribbean Immigrant Services Youth Core and the Caribbean World News Network ‘Emancipate The Immigrants’ forum, which aims to educate the clergy on the changes in the laws so they can inform their congregants.
In Queens, the forum is set for The Door Restaurant, 163-07 Baisley Boulevard in Rochdale, Queens from 9- 11 a.m, while the lunchtime event is at the Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene and will be hosted by Dr. Sam Vassell from 1 p.m. Later in the evening, church leaders are invited to join the team and Pastor Kirk Cohal at the Lennox Road Baptist Church from 7 – 9 p.m.
