Washington, DC –Immigration reform supporters this August organized an unprecedented level of activity around the country to keep pressure on Republicans and House leaders to move reform with a path to citizenship. From town halls to community forums and prayer vigils to pilgrimages, reform supporters were out in full force, while opponents of immigration were barely visible.
The pro-reform movement is bigger and broader than ever, encompassing both labor and business groups, religious denominations from across the spectrum, alongside immigrant and civil rights organizations. Groups in support of immigration reform brought the call for citizenship to target members across the country, with much of the activity focused in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Virginia, Texas, Florida, New York, and North Carolina. To provide a sense of just how powerful the coalition has become, here are some numbers that help tell the story of August recess:
Number of Republicans who’ve come out for citizenship: 25
Number of events organized: 1,194 in 41 states
Number of town hall meetings attended by reform supporters:132 in 29 states targeting 62 members of Congress
Number of Congressional visits: more than 350
Number of petitions gathered in support of citizenship: more than 600,000
Number of contacts to Congress through email, fax, and phone: 81,466
Number of state-level press hits generated: 588 in 38 states
Momentum on the anti-reform side was noticeably absent as organizers canceled numerous events for lack of participation and the events that did remain drew mere handfuls of people.
And, August recess was just the beginning. As beltway pundits continue to cast doubt on the prospects for reform in what looks to be a crowded fall calendar in the House of Representatives, immigration advocates will only be raising the stakes from here. With 200 Democrats in support of immigration reform with a path to citizenship and 26 Republicans and counting, the votes to win are there. Reform supporters simply won’t stop the fight until a vote is called.
Maria Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said, “We know the fight in the House is just beginning, and frankly, they haven’t seen anything yet. Those who’ve counted us out before have been consistently proven wrong. What people don’t seem to understand is this issue is personal for us. It’s not a policy issue, or even a political one, it’s about our moms and dads, sisters and brothers. We’re in this to win.”
The Alliance for Citizenship and its allies across the country are planning more mobilizations this fall, including a day of action on October 5 where rallies will be held in more than 60 cities and a mobilization at the Capitol on October 8 where tens of thousands of immigration reform supporters will remind House leadership that our movement is not going away until we get a vote on citizenship for 11 million aspiring Americans.
