Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes — A Day Without Immigrants

www.LatinosForAmerica.com


May 1, 2006


Today, immigrants all across America and their supporters are taking action through boycotts, walk outs, marches, lunch hour protests and post-work church services, demanding fair immigration policies.

We, at Latinos for America, believe that today’s actions are a critical next step in this movement for our growing community of Latino/Hispanic voters who are concerned with the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in America as manifested in the proposed law HR 4437.

Immigration reform is a paramount social issue. We are supporting Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes — A Day Without Immigrants — to help make clear to our community that their voices are being heard. At the same time, we are cautioning that their participation may exact retaliation, and are encouraging each individual to clearly weigh the level of involvement and the type of action in which s/he wishes to engage. We do not believe that those who fear losing their jobs should feel any pressure to participate and we strongly encourage that provisions be made to ensure adequate continuation of support for emergency and medical services, care for the young and elderly, schools and other essential services.

We believe it is imperative that all immigrants, regardless of whether they are citizens or not, have the opportunity to participate in a process towards citizenship that is sane and transparent, that promotes compassionate policies and is not simply another word for “quota”. To that end, as an organization we ask you today to sign on and make the following commitments:

1.) Stand up for those in your local communities who are risking their jobs and livelihoods to speak out on this important issue today; do not make unnecessary purchases.
2.) Call for immigration policies that are secure, open and transparent for all immigrant applicants. Contact your member of Congress:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
3.) Register to vote and encourage others to do the same!
http://www.yourvotematters.org/vote/index.cfm

We know there will be consequences for taking a stand, but we believe that it is our obligation to do so. When America’s founders took a stand against injustice, they knew that there would be consequences for their actions; and yet, had they not acted, the American promise would have never been born. History is now calling on us to act. Those who come after us will be impacted by what we do and don’t do. We cannot afford to sit idly by.

This national debate is just beginning, and these issues will not be solved overnight but the steps we take today will profoundly impact both the direction our country takes and the leadership that will represents us. Let your voice be heard, blog your thoughts at: www.LatinosForAmerica.com. Please stand with us.


¡Juntos, Sí Podemos! (Together, We Can!)