Illinois' illegal alien rights leader meeting with RNC chairman Steele

from the ICIRR

Two weeks ago, a delegation of immigrant rights leaders, including Joshua Hoyt, Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), met with President Barack Obama to warn of the political danger to Democrats if he and Congressional Democrats did not move immigration reform this year. This morning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, Hoyt and nine other leaders from national and grassroots immigrant advocacy organizations will meet with Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, to press the importance of immigration reform to GOP prospects among immigrant voters.

With Democratic leaders on record supporting reform, and a lone Republican lawmaker working to craft legislation bill, the delegation will urge Steele to reject obstructionist tactics that alienate mainstream Americans and kill any hopes for a larger, more diverse party in the future. Participants will ask Steele to encourage Republicans to work toward sensible, bipartisan solutions for our immigration system.

The group is warning the GOP that it cannot be oblivious to the primary importance of immigration reform for Latinos and many other immigrant voters. Latinos and persons of Asian and Middle Eastern descent combine to make up 9.1% of registered voters in Illinois. If Republican politicians choose to play politics with the lives of immigrants and their families, Latino and immigrant voters will not forget who stood against reform in November.

In addition, fixing our broken immigration system is key to fixing our economy—our nation cannot rebuild a strong economy on top of a broken immigration system. Comprehensive immigration reform will add $1.5 trillion to the U.S. economy over the next ten years, drive up wages for all workers, boost consumer spending, generate tax revenue, and support nearly a million jobs. Mass deportations, in contrast, could cost the economy $2.6 trillion over ten years.  If want to fix our economy, we must also fix our broken immigration system.

The American people want common-sense solutions that honor our religious faith and our families while growing our economy and protecting our national security—all of which have been historical priorities for the Republican Party.  It is in the GOP’s own interest to support comprehensive immigration reform.  Our nation needs to pass immigration reform this year—which means that we need to see bipartisan legislation introduced by the end of April.  For its own good and for the good of the nation, the Republican Party should join the push to make immigration reform a reality.