Immigrant Rights Advocates Travel to Washington DC
Seek Solution to Broken Immigration System - 03/08/07

In an unprecedented poll of immigrant communities across the country, the initiative called “Raising Immigrant Voices for Dignity & Justice” found that immigrants firmly support comprehensive reform of the U.S. immigration system. 94% of those polled supported legalization of undocumented immigrants.

Surveyed groups encompassed a wide demographic range, from Latinos, Sikhs, and Filipinos to veterans, students, and residents at the U.S.-Mexico border. In total, 1784 responses were collected from over a dozen states.

Earlier this month, comprehensive immigration reform bills were introduced in D.C., one from Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and the second, a bipartisan effort from Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and McCain (R-AZ) and Reps. Flake (R-AZ), Kolbe (R-AZ), and Gutierrez (D-IL). Both bills supported the legalization of undocumented immigrants and an overhaul to the family unification system that is severely backlogged, among other changes.

The “Raising Immigrant Voices for Dignity & Justice” initiative also revealed the following:

	94% of those surveyed were in support of granting greencards for any new contract workers to the U.S., so-called “guestworkers”
	92% were in favor of the immediate re-unification of family members waiting in other countries with their U.S. relatives
	91% opposed the deterioration of civil liberties and due process, and were also against deportations and harsher standards for asylum and refugee seekers
	91% opposed police or other local officials enforcing immigration law
	87% believed that U.S. immigration law should follow international human rights standards